If I Die Young
by Little.Miss.Chloe
Summary: Daryl Dixon and Collins Davis had an unconventional relationship. But regardless of their age difference and the fact that no one understood their friendship, they were stuck together, even through the end of the world. When he told her that it was time to run away she didn't even bother to ask him why or where they were going. (Warning:descriptions of domestic abuse) DarylxOC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any recognizable characters. I wish I did though, me and Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus would have some fun if I did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Before you ask ... I'm not abandoning Angel with a Shotgun.  
There's no way that I could do that. But this idea wormed itself into my head and it would not leave until I started writing it. So this is like mental masturbation for me, it just needed to happen.

For those of you that are wondering about this I will explain how this story is going to work:  
1. I'm playing around with Daryl's age a bit in this. In the show Daryl's in his early to mid 40s when the zombie apocalypse happens. In this story he's going to be thirty-six.  
2. There will be ten chapters in this story. (No more, no less.) But they will be long chapters, ten pages each. So by the time this story is done you guys will have read one hundred pages about Daryl and Collins.  
3. Each chapter is going to be about a different age. The characters are going to be getting older with each chapter, there will be no flashbacks, but there is really no rhyme or reason as to how much time has passed between each chapter.  
4. This story is going to have its good and happy moments. But it is not going to be a particularly happy story.  
5. There will be mentions and descriptions of **domestic violence**. If that is a **trigger** for you (**then you're probably not a fan of Daryl Dixon and probably aren't reading this story**, but here's the warning just in case).  
6. This is just the first chapter, I have through chapter five already typed up on my computer, but it's up to you guys if I post them. **REVIEW!** Yup, cause I am perfectly happy writing these and not publishing them. Editing, formatting, typing (what I hope are) sarcastically funny author's notes take time. So if you guys aren't interested in reading more about Collins and Daryl just let me know.

And now, without further adieu, the first chapter:

* * *

The first time Daryl Dixon met Collins Davis she was five years old. He was fifteen and they were both sitting in identical blue emergency room chairs waiting for their chance to see the doctor. He had never seen her in the emergency room before, but he recognized the sympathetic looks on the nurses' faces as they passed the young girl and her mother - they had been there before. He didn't want to, but he recognized the look on her mother's face as well. His own mother had made that face years ago when he was younger, before he was old enough to go to the hospital alone, before she died. The little girl's mother avoided making eye contact with anyone else in the room, and her hands kept going to her pocket, fingering the small rectangular box in her pocket, cigarettes. He knew the look; her mother was ashamed - ashamed that she and her daughter were at the hospital again, ashamed that she had no valid excuse for why her daughter was injured, ashamed that she was unable to protect her own child (something almost every other mother in the country was able to do). Yes, this room and situation was as familiar to Daryl as his own bedroom and judging by the way the little child sat quietly by her mother he had the feeling that it was the same for her.

The young girl turned to look at her mother, her large brown eyes lighting on the way her mother kept fingering the packet of cigarettes in her pocket. She heaved a large sigh, her small shoulders heaving with the effort, before she put her chubby, child's hand on top of her mother's. "You can go outside, Mama," she said quietly. "We're always here forever and we just got here. I'll still be sitting here when you get back." Daryl watched the way the girl's mother shook her head although her fingers were already working on extracting one of her cigarettes from the package. The mother said all the right things, about not wanting to leave her daughter alone, about how she could handle not smoking while her daughter waited; all the while the woman's brown eyes glanced around the emergency room, checking to see if anyone would be watching her when she got up to leave her young daughter alone. Daryl quickly looked away and he didn't see the mother get up from the chair, but he did hear the emergency room doors hiss open and closed after she left.

The young girl was the first one to speak. She cradled her right arm to her chest as she got up from her chair and limped over to where Daryl was sitting. "Hi," she said quietly as she tried to sit in the seat next to him. Daryl couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face as the young girl struggled to climb up into the chair that was too tall for her with only one hand. He reached out and held the chair still for her so that she could climb into it without it moving. Once she was seated she shook her bangs out of her eyes and shot him a defiant look that clearly told him that she had not wanted or needed his help. "My name is Collins Davis," she said once she had finished glaring at him. "I live at 1556 Wrigley Road with my Mama and my Daddy and my dog. His name is Francis," she told him in the way that only young children could do when they revealed too much information to complete strangers. "I don't know my phone number yet, but I'm working on it." She frowned for a moment and Daryl could tell that it really bothered her that she didn't have her phone number memorized yet. "What's your name?" she asked him a moment later once she had shrugged off her disappointment.

Daryl glanced over at the young girl, he had been at this emergency room enough times that he was able to recognize a kindred spirit fairly easily. Collins nodded quietly, she knew that he understood as he glanced at her, his blue eyed gaze tracing the bruise forming under left eye, the bloody split on her lower lip and the way she was holding her arm protectively against her body. _Oh yeah_, Daryl thought, he understood why she was there. "Daryl," the older boy said quietly before he glanced over the young girl's shoulders to see if her mother was coming back. He could see the older woman through the glass doors, But the woman was not concerned with her daughter, she was already in a different world. It looked as though she was halfway through her first cigarette, but judging by the fact that she was still holding the carton in her hand she was going to have another one before she came back inside. He was suddenly sent back about ten years, he had seen this scene before with his own mother. She would sit in the emergency room and take the carton of Virginia Slims out of her purse and tap it nervously while glancing at the door that led to the parking lot. He could still remember nudging his mother and telling her some version of what Collins had just told her mother. He glanced at the tiny brunette girl and realized that they both had been cut from the same cloth with a ten year age difference. She was staring at him, her wide brown eyes dark and angry, silently daring him to say something about how her mother had just abandoned her. He shrugged, "My mom used to like Virginia Slims."

The young girl's glare disappeared instantly. She wasn't really sure what Virginia Slims were, but she was sure she had heard the name in a gas station before. She figured that they were a different kind of cigarettes, a kind that her mother didn't like. They boy hadn't said much, hadn't spoken more than a sentence to her, but the little he had said told her that he understood her. She nodded, "Is it okay that I'm sitting here?" she asked him as if he hadn't been the one to help her sit on the chair in the first place. Daryl snorted out a laugh before he nodded at the little girl. "I'm five," she said after almost a full minute of silence. "Where do you live? Do you believe in superheroes? I used to, but Kevin Light at my school told me that they are like Santa Claus and that they don't actually exist. Do you know Kevin?" This caused Daryl to laugh again, he was about to point out to the young girl that he didn't make a point of talking to five year olds, but he was almost worried about hurting her feelings. Besides, she had only paused for a moment to catch her breath before she started talking again. "So I just read their comics. My favorite is Batman, although I really like Captain America too. My cousin says that I can't like both of them because they're from different comics, but I think he's wrong. And I just tell him that I don't like his face. Do you think he's wrong?" She turned to look at him for a moment. "I don't think you'd like his face either," she told him.

Daryl laughed at her, "You're a talkative one, ain't you?" he asked her quietly.

"I just really like superheroes," the young girl explained. "And swimming. Do you like to go swimming? This past summer Ella, my neighbor, she babysits me sometimes. She took me to Smith Lake and taught me how to swim. If you don't like swimming then what do you do in the summer?" She took a deep breath before she tilted her head up to study Daryl again. "You don't talk much do you?" she asked, finally noticing that he hadn't said much since she had sat down.

Daryl shook his head.

The young girl nodded, "That's okay," she said, glancing over at the empty chairs that she and her mother had been sitting in earlier. "My mama says that I can talk enough for everyone." But she didn't talk anymore after that. She remained quiet, seemed to understand that Daryl was more comfortable with that then when she was talking at him. (And yes, she had been talking _at_ him, not _to _him.) He glanced at her and wondered if this was boring for her, but she seemed happy to simply have someone next to her. She didn't seem to mind the quiet all too much. He cleared his throat and she turned to glance at him, her brown eyes even wider with curiosity.

"What happened to you?" he asked her quietly before he gestured toward the bruise on her face and her sore arm. She opened her mouth for a moment, but she didn't seem to know what to say. She bit her lip and flinched when her teeth bit down on the split in her lip. Daryl shook his head at her, "Tell the truth," he commanded her quietly. He was all too familiar with the lies people told, the lies that he had told when he was younger - the lies he still told when people bothered to ask him if he was okay. But he wanted to hear the truth from the girl. He wasn't sure why, but he needed to know, he needed to make sure that she was here for the same reason he was. Though he had a feeling that he wasn't going to like the outcome of this conversation.

"I was playing on my swing set," Collins said with a look of practiced sincerity falling onto her face. "I tried to jump off the swing, so that I could feel like I was flying and when I landed I tripped and fell." She carefully stretched both her arms out in front of her for a moment before she brought her right arm back in, across her chest, "I tried to stop myself from falling and Daddy says that he thinks I broke my arm." Daryl stared at her silently, he raised his eyebrows at her, though he was sure that the young girl wouldn't understand that the gesture meant that he didn't believe her, and he waited for her to tell him the truth. She heaved another giant sigh, "Daddy likes to watch the horses race," she started to explain. "He took me with him once, but I didn't like it. It was too loud, there were too many people. I thought I was going to get lost. And the horses didn't look at all like they did in my story books," she shrugged. "Sometimes he comes back and he's really happy. Sometimes when he comes back he's not very happy at all. And I know better. When Daddy is unhappy I'm supposed to stay out of his way." She lifted her left hand up toward her face and held her index finger in front of her lips in the _quiet_ signal. "I'm supposed to stay quiet like a mouse. But I had just learned how to spell my name and I wanted to show him and he wouldn't listen to me so I yelled." She paused and glanced up at Daryl with glassy eyes, he was momentarily worried that she was about to start crying, but she just shook her head. "I don't even have a swing set," she whispered quietly. She glanced around the waiting room to see if her mother had come back, but the older woman was still outside. "Why are you here?" she asked him quietly.

Daryl normally hesitated when he was asked this question. Although that day his hesitation was for a different reason. He knew that he was going to let Collins know why he was at the hospital, she had told him why she was there, the least he could do was return the favor. But he wasn't sure if what he was going to show her would scare her or not. He glanced into her expectant eyes for a moment before he sighed and leaned forward in his seat slightly and lifted his arm so that she would be able to see the blood that was staining his shirt above his ribs. It wasn't a wide cut, but it was long and it had been bleeding for a while. The little girl reached out slightly to touch his shirt and pulled away, she hissed slightly when her fingers came back stained with blood, the blood on his shirt was wet and fresh. "Fell through a glass door," Daryl supplied quietly as he reached out and took the young girl's hand in his so that he could gently rub his blood off of her skin. He figured that he really didn't need to tell her that his father had pushed him through the door when he told him that he was going to move out. The girl was too young for that information, regardless of what her own father was putting her through.

He wondered if the girl was going to ask him how he fell through the door, ask him how often he came to the emergency room, ask him any number of questions that someone could ask at a moment like this. But she didn't. Maybe it was because she was too young to realize that she should be asking those questions, or maybe it was because she had realized what he had realized earlier - they understood each other better than anyone else ever could. Instead of asking him any questions she nodded, "I like you, Daryl," she said quietly. "Can we be friends?" Daryl stared at the small brunette girl for a moment. He didn't have many friends, he didn't like letting people get to close to him, and if he was going to pick a friend it definitely wouldn't be a five-year-old girl. But it got lonely with just Merle who had spent more time in juvie than he did at home when he was younger and was now in and out of prison more times than Daryl could count. He figured that it might be nice to have someone around that understood what he was going through. Even if it was just a little girl that he met in an emergency room. It would give him chance to help someone, to mentor them, and to protect them in a way that Merle had never been able to do for him. Besides, the girl was in the emergency room with a broken arm, and she was five years old, it wasn't like he could tell her they couldn't be friends without making her cry.

So he nodded. "I like you too, Collins," he said with a grin. "Sure, we can be friends."

The girl grinned up at him and opened her mouth. Daryl had the idea that she was about to start spouting off more of those ridiculous questions. He readied himself for the onslaught of random, unrelated questions when the doors to the waiting room hissed open and her mother walked back into the room. "Collins," her mother said, her voice stern as she glanced at her daughter and the teenage boy she was sitting next to. "Get over here. You know that you're not allowed to talk to strangers." Collins glanced at Daryl apologetically before she started to struggle to get off her seat. Daryl reached out again and held the chair steady as she climbed off of it and limped back across the waiting room toward her mother. Daryl looked the other way when the woman, probably out of habit, grabbed the young girl's wrist and pulled her small body closer to her. Daryl was sure that the mother hadn't meant to hurt her child because when Collins gasped out in pain her mother quickly dropped the injured wrist and apologized. "I'm so sorry, baby," the older woman whispered. She waited for a moment, her eyes drifting over to Daryl before she looked back down at her daughter, "What did you tell him?" she hissed.

"Nothing," Collins lied quietly, her brown eyes darting over at Daryl for a moment. "I didn't tell him anything." Her mother didn't look like she believed her daughter, she gave her a quiet lecture about talking to strangers before she asked Collins why she had been sitting next to the teenager if she hadn't been talking to him. "We were talking," Collins explained. "I told him about Francis. And how Kevin Light says that superheroes don't exist. I told him that Ella taught me to swim last summer and I asked him about superheroes and swimming and about Danny's face. I don't think he'd like Danny's face. And I told him about my swing set. He told me why he is here too. He fell through a glass door, Mama. And you say I'm assadent - axcadent," she sighed. "You say I'm clumsy."

This seemed to subdue her mother. The older brunette smiled at her daughter and quietly corrected her. "Accident prone, Collie," she said quietly. "I say that you're accident prone." The young girl shrugged at her mother and allowed the older woman to gently steer her back toward their chairs. She and her mother and Daryl sat on opposite sides of the waiting room in tense silence for a few minutes until a nurse walked in and told Daryl that a doctor was available to see him. Daryl stood up and glanced at the young girl, she smiled softly at him. He liked the smile. It wasn't a smile filled with pity. It wasn't a fake smile. It wasn't a sarcastic smile. It was the smile of a co-conspirator - a friend who, though many years younger than him, knew exactly how he was feeling. He smiled back at her and winked as he gave her a thumbs up, "I'll see you around Collins," he told her softly before he followed the nurse to the examination room.

-.-.-.-.-

Daryl had not planned on ever seeing the young girl again, but he couldn't seem to get her out of his head. He worried about her. He wondered about what was happening at her house. He wondered if she was safe. He wondered if she was happy. Hell, he even wondered about whether or not someone had punched Kevin Light in his face and told him to stop ruining young girls' dreams about superheroes and Santa Claus. He spent an entire two weeks telling himself that he needed to forget the younger girl, that the best thing that he could do for her was to leave her alone, and that he had his own things to worry about. But she would not leave his mind. So three weeks after he met her in the hospital he skipped his last class of the afternoon and rode his bicycle to the only elementary school in their town. The elementary school kids got out of school before the high schoolers did so that they wouldn't have to share a bus with the bigger kids, so the little children were already flooding out of the school doors when Daryl stopped his bike at the bike rack.

It wasn't hard to find Collins. She was the only kindergartner with a bright pink cast on her arm. Daryl was surprised at that, he had assumed that the young girl had broken her arm, but it was one thing to think that she had and another thing to see her small arm encased in the large plaster cast. He raised his hand up in the air and waved it once in her direction. She caught sight of him right away and without stopping to say goodbye to any of the kids in her class she started to run toward him with her arms outstretched, it was obvious that she was expecting him to catch her. Daryl quickly leaned his bike up against the bike rack and knelt down so that he was closer to her level as the five-year-old continued her run toward him. As she got closer to him he could hear her giggle. "Daryl!" she cheered as she launched herself into his arms. He chuckled and shook his head at the younger girl before he stood up to his full height and spun her around in a circle which only caused her to giggle even more. "I thought I was going to see you soon!" she told him once he had set her back down on her feet.

"And why'd you think that, little girl?" he asked her as he reached out a placed a hand on her shoulder to help steady her on her feet. She seemed pretty unbalanced with the large cast on one of her arms, he hadn't thought about her balance when he had spun her around. He glanced over her small body with concerned eyes, the split in her lip had healed and the bruise under her eye had mostly faded. She had a few bruises on her arms and legs, but they weren't too big or obvious - nothing that couldn't be explained away by the fact that Collins was an energetic and clumsy little girl. He knew what this meant, his own father did this on a fairly regular basis. He would stop the abuse for a few weeks, or at least be more gentle. Daryl never asked him whether the change was because he felt guilty over the major damage that he had done to his child or if it was because he was worried about losing his punching bag if anyone ever figured it out. Regardless of the reason, he was sure that Collins' father was the same way.

"Because we're friends," the little brunette girl said with a shrug as if that explained everything, and Daryl supposed that in her mind it probably did. "And friends can't be friends if they never see each other." She looked like she was about to say more, but she was interrupted by a woman calling out her name. She and Daryl both turned back toward the school and saw a middle-aged blonde woman walking toward them. "That's Miss Madison," Collins informed Daryl quietly. "She's my teacher. I like her a lot. She's nice and she smells good when she gives hugs. And she gives really good hugs. Do any of your teachers give good hugs?"

Daryl chuckled softly at the younger girl and shook his head as the teacher approached them. "Collins," the teacher scolded in a gentle voice. "Now you know that you're not supposed to run off like that. Not without telling anyone where you're going. What if we lost you?" She turned her head slightly and glanced at Daryl, "And you know the rules about talking to strangers," she added, as she looked Daryl up and down. "Now come on," she commanded, holding her hand out to the young girl, "let's go back to the rest of the walkers, okay? You need to get home."

"Daryl's not a stranger," Collins said as she stood her ground and refused to take her teacher's hand. "He's my friend." The teacher's eyes shot up in surprise.

"Her cousin," Daryl lied quietly. The last thing he wanted to do was be labeled as a pedophile and he figured that it was less likely to happen if the teacher thought that he was Collins' family. "I'm Collins' cousin, Daryl Dixon," he grinned at the older woman, "and her friend," he added with a gentle eye roll. The teacher nodded, she believed him. He reached out and gently bumped a fist against Collins' good shoulder, "I got out of school early today and figured that I might as well come over here and take her out to ice cream after school before I took her home," he explained.

The teacher nodded again, smiling slightly at the way her young student squealed in excitement at the words _ice cream_. "Okay Collins," she said with a sigh. "But I'll see you in class tomorrow, right?" She glanced at Daryl when she said this and the teenager was sure that this was a veiled threat to him. That she knew his name and knew what he looked like and that she'd call the police if Collins wasn't in class the next morning. He nodded silently at her, letting her know that he understood what she meant and that he wasn't going to let anything happen to the young girl. He found it ironic that the teacher was so concerned about him when she probably didn't even bat an eye at any of them overused excuses that Collins' parents probably spouted about her injuries.

Collins was quiet until her teacher had walked away from them. Then she turned to look at Daryl with wide, bright eyes. "Are we really going to get some ice cream?" she asked him. He grinned down at her and nodded as he pulled the bike chain out of his book bag and locked the old, rusted bike to the bike rack. He was pretty sure that nobody would want to steal this rusted junker of a bike, but he had saved up for half a year to buy the thing and he wasn't going to take any chances. He held his hand out to the small girl and waited until she had slipped her much smaller hand into his grasp before he started to walk. "Can I get chocolate chip cookie dough?" she asked him, her tone as excited as the glint in her eyes. "Two scoops?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, you hear," Daryl said with a chuckle as the two continued to walk away from the school to the ice cream shop. "I bet your eyes are bigger than your stomach. You're not all that hungry are you?" Collins looked up at him and Daryl chuckled again when he noticed the stubborn set to her jaw, she had decided that she wanted two scoops of ice cream and she wasn't going to settle for anything less. "Alright," he said with a nod. "Two scoops."

Collins grinned up at him, "And you'll eat anything I don't eat?" she asked quietly, she was suddenly worried that she wouldn't be able to eat all of the ice cream, but she wanted to be a big girl and all the big girls she saw at the ice cream place could eat two whole scoops on their own. Daryl nodded down at her before he asked her how her day had been. She smiled at him, "It was really good. We worked on counting today and I can count all the way up to twenty-five. That's the highest in the class. Kevin Light can't count that high. He said that boys are smarter than girls but I proved him wrong because he can't even count up to fifteen. I know all the numbers compared to him."

"Sounds like someone needs to punch Kevin Light in the face," Daryl muttered, echoing his thoughts from earlier that week.

"Oh no," Collins said, shaking her head. Her eyes were wide and scared. "That's not very nice. My mama says that you should never use your fists to settle an argooment." She paused for a moment, that wasn't the right word. Daryl was about to tell her how to pronounce the word when she figured it out on her own. "Argument," she said with a nod.

Daryl had to force himself not to get angry at the idea that Collins' mother told her that fists weren't a good way to settle an argument, but that the woman let her husband hurt her young daughter. He forced himself to grin down at her, "Good job, little girl," he praised. "I think that just earned you some sprinkles on top of those two scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream." Collins grinned up at him at the praise. "So besides counting up to twenty-five what did you do today?" he asked her as the continued to walk.

"We had music class, and art. We were working on clay today. I couldn't do it because I couldn't make any of the shapes that I wanted to do," Collins pouted slightly as she lifted her casted arm to silently explain why she hadn't been able to use the clay. "But Mrs. Castleton, that's my art teacher - she's not very nice. But, anyway, she let me color instead. And I love coloring." She suddenly stopped and frantically pulled her backpack off her back. Daryl asked her what she was doing as she dropped the bag on the ground and dropped down to her knees so that she could rummage through it. "I drew you a picture," she said as if that explained everything. "On the weekend when I was supposed to be taking a nap. I've had it in my backpack all week so that I'd have it when I saw you." She pulled a crumpled, folded piece of paper out of the bottom of the bag and quickly zipped it up. Daryl bent down so that he could grab her bright purple backpack and he threw it over his shoulder with his own as she unfolded the sheet of paper and tried to smooth it out as best she could. "Here," she handed it to him with little preamble.

Daryl took the picture in his free hand as they started to walk again. It was a picture of stick figures drawn with a shaky child's hand and crayons that were too big for her small hands. "Is that?" he asked as he glanced at the taller figure that seemed to be in the process of falling through a giant black square, there were little blue dots and triangles drawn all around the bottom of the square. "Is that me falling through the glass door?" he guessed. Collins nodded, the smile on her lips saying that she was proud that Daryl had been able to figure it out. "And that," he used his index finger to point at the smaller figure that was wearing a yellow dress with red polka dots and was sitting on what looked like a giant blue banana attached to the top of the paper with strings, the stick figure wasn't holding on to the strings. "That's you on your swing set."

Collins nodded again, completely unable to hide her pride. "There's another picture if you turn it over," she told him. "It's even better than the first one I think," she added with a grin.

Daryl didn't even hesitate to turn it over. On the other side of the paper there were more stick figures. This time Collins' small little stick figure was wearing a purple dress with sloppily drawn orange stripes and they were surrounded by blue squares with four black lines coming out of them. It took Daryl a moment to realize that they were hospital chairs. His stick figure had its arms wrapped around the smaller one in a hug and in the careful, sloppy handwriting of a young child _Collins and Dareille_ was written across the top of the picture. He grinned at that, he'd wait a while before he told her that she had spelled his name wrong. "It's beautiful, little girl," he said with a grin as he squeezed her hand gently. "And I get to keep this?" he asked. She nodded up at him silently. "Thank you," he said with a nod as he tried to fold the paper up with his one free hand. "I'm gonna keep this forever."

-.-.-.-.-

Daryl's visits to the elementary school became more frequent after that. He'd go pick Collins up from school at least once a week, sometimes twice a week. He didn't really give a damn about school and his last class of the day was his journalism class. He wasn't going to buy a yearbook so he wasn't sure why he was expected to work on it and he really didn't care if the teacher noticed that he was skipping the class more frequently now than he had in the past. The teachers at the school got used to seeing him; they didn't come after her anymore when Collins would run toward him at breakneck speed without saying goodbye to anyone, some of them even waved. Daryl had stopped calling Collins little girl and had started calling her _pretty girl_. She liked that one, something told him that she didn't hear much praise at home, at least not from a male figure. So he was going to do whatever he could to make sure that she got as normal of a childhood as possible. He hadn't really had a role model when he was growing up, but Collins would.

They didn't always get ice cream. Sometimes they would stay at the elementary school and play on the playground, Collins favorite game was don't touch the ground and Daryl was sure that he would never get tired of hearing the little girl screech at him whenever he touched the ground. (_Daryl! The ground is lava! Daryl! Lava! You're burning!_) Sometimes they just walked around town, just to walk, and Daryl would help her learn to read all the words on the buildings and street signs. Other times he would take her to the public library and they would find a quiet corner to sit and read. Daryl would sit with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him, bent at the knee, Collins would settle herself in between his legs and hold the book so that she could see the pictures while Daryl leaned forward so that he could read over the young girl's shoulder. She would follow along with her finger and anytime she recognized a word she would reach back and put a tiny, restraining hand on Daryl's chest before she would yell the word out. He had given up telling her that she needed to be quiet in the library.

So had the librarians, it seemed. They didn't scold her anymore, they would smile fondly at the girl whenever she recognized a word that should have been beyond her five-year-old comprehension. Daryl would bite his lip and grin nervously at the librarian while scratching the back of his head - a nervous habit. But there was no way to hide the pride that glinted in his eyes when he looked down at the young girl. She was smart, so smart, and he was proud that even in a very small way he was helping her learn more. Once they had read three or sometimes four books, the young girl always wanted more, Daryl would pull a stack of paper and a box of crayons out of his backpack and the two would lay on their stomachs on the floor and color.

Collins was smart, and she was energetic, and she had so many things going for her. Drawing was not one of them. But she didn't care because no matter what she drew Daryl always seemed to be able to tell what it was supposed to be. Half the time he was just guessing, but he was glad that he was able to figure it out, just so that he could see the happy, proud smile on the younger girl's face when he understood her drawing. Back home his bedroom walls were covered with little stick figure drawings of him and Collins. It was pictures of them doing what they did in town: having ice cream (in the pictures Collins always two scoops of ice cream in her cones and Daryl would have eight), playing don't touch the ground on the playground (the ground in the picture was always colored a mixture of red, yellow, and orange to signify the lava), and sitting in the library reading books (there would be at least twenty colorful books surrounding the two stick figures in these pictures). Sometimes she would draw pictures of the things she wanted them to do: there was a picture of them going to the zoo (Collins' little stick figure was riding on top of a giraffe in the picture), going to the moon (Daryl was the one driving the rocket while Collins floated around in the back with scoops of ice cream floating in the air around her), and playing prince and princess (there was a tower and Collins was leaning out the window, she was dressed in all pink with a large yellow crown on her head, Daryl was riding toward the tower on a square horse with a giant smile and four skinny, squiggly legs).

The prince and princess picture was probably Daryl's favorite. He liked the idea of being able to save the young girl and he wished that he could actually save her from her father. The cast had come off four weeks after they started hanging out again. For a while there were no visible injuries on the young girl, her father was being careful. But then one day they were playing on the playground and Daryl had lifted Collins in his arms so that she could pretend to go across the monkey bars when her shirt rode up and he noticed a stitched up gash across her lower stomach. Her father hadn't stopped the abuse, he had just gotten smart about it. Daryl growled angrily and the young girl had quickly dropped her hands from the bars above he head. She wriggled in his arms until he turned her around and she brought her small hand down to his face, "What's wrong Daryl?" she asked him quietly, patting his cheek impatiently when he didn't look her in the eye. "Did I do something wrong?" Daryl snorted at that and shook his head, she could do no wrong.

"No pretty girl," he said quietly. "You didn't do nothing wrong. What happened to your belly?" Collins shrugged silently and gently patted his cheek again. Daryl knew what this answer meant, it meant that she knew what he was angry about and she didn't want to make him angrier. Daryl sighed and moved away from the monkey bars so that they could sit down side by side on the slide. "No," he said, his voice stern, "what happened?"

Collins looked down at her hands in her lap and played with her fingers for a moment. "I was running with scissors," she said, her face impassive. "And I fell and cut myself." Daryl raised his eyebrows, silently waiting for her father's part in the accident. "Daddy was chasing me," she explained quietly. "I had spilled his Dad Juice. He was angry." Daryl smiled at her words in spite of himself, _Dad Juice_ was Collins' way of saying _beer_. "I almost got to my room," Collins said with a nod. "Daddy reached out to grab me and I tripped and fell."

"Why were you carryin' scissors?" Daryl asked quietly. Nothing about what the young girl had said so far could explain how she had gotten the gash on her stomach so he had assumed that the part about the running with scissors had been the truth. Her father hadn't purposefully cut his daughter, but she wouldn't have been injured if he hadn't been angry at her.

"I was trying to cut a paper doll chain," the young girl explained. "I was spreading it out to see how I did when I accidentally knocked over his Dad Juice." Daryl smiled in spite of himself again and held his hand out in an offered high five when the girl said _accidentally_ correctly. She smiled under his quiet praise. "I was gonna give you the chain, but it got wet and smelled bad so I threw it out. I'll try again tonight." Daryl smiled down at the girl and told her he'd love it.

They were quiet for a bit after that before Collins turned to Daryl with a bright smile on her face. "Can we play don't touch the ground?" she asked him excitedly. And Daryl couldn't say no to the little girl if he had wanted to. She had him wrapped around her little finger and she didn't even know it.

-.-.-.-.-

At the beginning of the year when he and Collins had first started hanging out he had convinced himself that he was doing this for the little girl's sake. That the only reason he hung out with the five-year-old was so that she would know that not all men were like her father, so that she would have a role model - someone to look up to, and so that she would know that someone cared about her. He told himself that they only hung out because he was worried about her.

But as the time progressed Daryl realized that it was just as much for him as it was for her. He enjoyed hanging out with the young girl. Because she didn't care that his father was the town drunk, she didn't care that his brother was a screw up who spent more time behind bars than he ever did a free man, and she didn't care that Daryl was never going to leave this town. Things like that didn't occur to her. The girls in Daryl's grade would stick their noses up in the air when they talked to Daryl - they never outright said it; but it was clear that they thought they were better than him, smarter than him, and that they were going to get out of this small town and go to college while he was going to die here. He was just too stupid, that's what they thought.

But Collins didn't think any of those things. As far as she was concerned Daryl was the smartest person she had ever met because he knew lots of things that she couldn't even imagine knowing. Whenever she had a question, Daryl knew the answer. When she couldn't read a big word, Daryl could. When she was too small to reach things, Daryl could get them. He was smart and talented and though she couldn't imagine him ever leaving their town it was for a different reason. In her eyes Daryl wasn't stuck in the town because he was stupid. He was going to stay in the town because they were best friends and he would never leave her there alone. She had explained that to him once and Daryl had tried not to laugh at the fact that he was fifteen and his best friend was a five-year-old. The sad fact was that the five-year-old was right, they were best friends.

"Kevin Light gave me a note today at recess," Collins said as she and Daryl sat on the swings at her school. "He says that he's my secret amiarer. I don't really know what that word means, but it can't be so secret since he signed his name at the bottom of the note. I think it has something to do with triangles, there were a lot of badly drawn triangles all over the paper. Their small ends were all squiggly." Daryl laughed at that. Collins looked up at him, her eyes confused.

"I'm pretty sure those were supposed to be hearts," Daryl explained with a gentle smile on his face. Collins asked him how he knew that even though he hadn't seen the note and he didn't know Kevin Light. He grinned down at the young girl, "Because the word is _admirer_," he told her. "And it means that someone loves you from far away even though they know that you don't love them." He paused, studying the young girl. "Do you like him?" he asked her.

"No," Collins said with a definite shake of her head. Daryl pointed out that she talked about the young boy a lot. "I do not like Kevin Light," Collins said. "I talk about him because he is mean to me and does mean things like pull my hair. I do not like him. And I do not want him as an amiarer." Daryl could tell that she was serious by the fact that she wasn't using contractions. "Besides," she said seriously. "I'm going to marry you. He's wasting his time."

* * *

Author's Note:  
And that's all I've got for now. I hope you guys love it because I kind of do.  
Don't worry, I know this story is listed as romance and I'm not making Daryl some kind of creepy pervert. In the next chapter Collins is going to be significantly older. We just needed this chapter to explain the beginning of their relationship.  
If you liked it, let me know.  
**REVEIWS are like AIR**(I need them to survive.)  
Until next time, happy reading!  
Hugs and kisses,  
Chloe Jane.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any recognizable characters. I wish I did though, me and Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus would have some fun if I did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Surprisingly, you guys really liked Daryl with the little girl.  
Makes me think I should have written another chapter with Collins being little.  
But alas, Collins had to get older.  
I hope you like this chapter even though she's not as adorable as she was before.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just a reminder:  
1. I'm playing around with Daryl's age a bit in this. In the show Daryl's in his early to mid 40s when the zombie apocalypse happens. In this story he's going to be thirty-six.  
2. There will be ten chapters in this story. (No more, no less.) But they will be long chapters, ten pages each. So by the time this story is done you guys will have read one hundred pages about Daryl and Collins.  
3. Each chapter is going to be about a different age. The characters are going to be getting older with each chapter, there will be no flashbacks, but there is really no rhyme or reason as to how much time has passed between each chapter.  
4. This story is going to have its good and happy moments. But it is not going to be a particularly happy story.  
5. There will be mentions and descriptions of **domestic violence**. If that is a **trigger** for you (**then you're probably not a fan of Daryl Dixon and probably aren't reading this story**) but here's the warning just in case.  
6. Reviews are like air. I love them.

And now, without further adieu, the second chapter:

* * *

"What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Collins glanced up from her feet and bit back a smile when she saw Daryl standing in front of her. The older boy wasn't smiling as he sat down next to the sixteen-year-old girl in one of the still familiar plastic blue chairs. Could she even still call him a boy when he was twenty-six? He glanced around the emergency waiting room and sighed. He had moved out of his father's house years ago, but this room still occasionally haunted his dreams, this situation was all too familiar to him and it bothered him that Collins was still going through it. He turned back to the young teenage girl, she looked so different from when they had first met. The age difference was the first thing he noticed: it had been eleven years since the first time they saw each other in this emergency room, and the time had definitely changed her. But when he looked closely he could still see that five-year-old that had been his best friend from the moment they met.

She had always been smaller than average, time hadn't changed that. At sixteen years old she stood just a few inches over five feet tall. And she was slim - she went to the gym everyday and she could run for miles without stopping - she was proud of that. Around the age of eight she had finally learned what a brush was and she had started to brush her hair so it wasn't such a mess now. As she got older she had kept her bangs, but now the were side swept, covering one of her dark brown eyes - the left one, but not the other. Her brown hair was straight and went slightly past her shoulders, it was streaked with bright purple at the moment. Daryl silently wondered if the new color in her hair was the reason she was here again. She wanted tattoos, like him, but at sixteen she was unable to get them so she had settled for piercings. She had ten in total: a tiny stud in her nose, three cartilage piercings on her right ear, and three piercings on each of her ear lobes. Her father hadn't been happy when she had gotten them all done, but after the initial battle (and it had been a battle, Daryl could still remember picking the girl up from the hospital after her father had broken her ribs like it was yesterday) he hadn't made her take them out.

He looked at her carefully, glancing past the hair, the piercings, the make-up, and the clothes. He was trying to figure out why she was at the hospital that day. He couldn't see any bruises, though that didn't mean anything. They could have been hidden under her clothes. Black eyes were easier to explain on a clumsy young child than they were on a high school girl. She fidgeted, slightly uncomfortable under his gaze. "What'd he do to you this time?" Daryl growled out, barely able to contain his anger when he thought about the man hurting his friend. Collins shook her head, she didn't want to tell him. He always asked her what her father had done to her and then he always got pissed when he found out. She didn't want that, she wanted to avoid that as much as possible. Daryl shook his head at her, "What did he do Collins?" he asked her, trying to keep the growl out of his voice this time. Collins hated when he got angry.

She sighed, her brown eyes flitted over his face for a moment before she glanced around the waiting room to make sure that no one was paying too much attention to their conversation. Finally her gaze returned to her feet and the floor. "I think it's my kidneys," she whispered quietly, her eyes darted around the room again to make sure that no one was listening to their conversation. She swallowed around a lump in her throat, "A boy called the house last night, he wanted to ask me to go to prom with him. You know how Daddy feels about me dating." Daryl nodded. That was probably the only thing that he and Collins' father could agree on - neither of them were okay with her dating though they had different ways of showing it. "Anyway," she continued, "we got in a fight and I tried to just leave, like you told me to when he gets like that. He lunged forward to catch me, caught onto my ankle and tripped me. He got up while I was still on the ground and he," she paused and Daryl wondered if she was going to try to get out of telling him the rest. He was about to lecture her about it when he glanced at her face and realized that it wasn't that she didn't want to tell him the rest, but that she couldn't. She couldn't form the words. Her face was contorted in pain and as he looked at her eyes he could tell that her brain was working furiously to figure out a way to explain what her father had done to her.

She finally settled for not using words at all. She sighed quietly to herself before she nodded down toward the ground. She waited until he was watching her before she lifted her right foot off the ground and let it hover for the moment about a foot and a half above the floor before she slammed it back down on the tiles. Daryl stared at it for a moment or two, imagining Collins laying there in pain, trapped under her father's heavy boot. "Jesus Christ," he muttered, still glaring down at the floor. He reached out and gently grabbed Collins' hand so that he could give it a gentle, hopefully comforting squeeze. "And you think it's your kidneys?" he asked.

Collins nodded quietly. "It was right in the middle of my back," she said quietly - as if the news wouldn't sound so bad if it was delivered in a quiet voice. "Not my spine, next to it though. And not my ribs, below them. Nothing cracked, but it hurt like a bitch. And then this morning when I woke up and went to the bathroom," she paused and glanced at Daryl, silently apologizing to him for what was probably going to be too much information. "Well I peed blood. That's a kidney issue." Daryl nodded and cursed quietly to himself, he didn't know what else to say. He wasn't even sure if there was anything to say, or if he could trust his voice to say it. The last thing that he wanted to do was to say something without thinking, to growl or yell, and have the teenage girl think that he was angry with her. Collins sighed, "I'm sorry Dare," she said quietly, dropping the nickname that she had started using when she was still in elementary school. "I know that you hate coming here to pick me up. But I couldn't," she paused, "I didn't know who else to call," she said, shaking her head sadly. "I don't think I have anybody else to call."

Daryl shook his head at her and squeezed her hand again. "You ain't gotta apologize for anything," he told the brunette. "Especially not this. This ain't your fault." Collins smiled softly at the deep southern accent that colored Daryl's voice. She loved the accent and it only became more pronounced when he was angry and she loved the way it sounded. She had always associated Daryl's angry voice with safety because it was very rare that Daryl was angry with her. More often than not he was angry _for_ her, and when he used this deep, southern accented voice it was because he was protecting her from something, angry at someone for hurting her, or making plans to stop someone from hurting her. The older man glanced at her, "Why don't you just leave?" he asked her, his voice pained. "Like Merle. Like I did. You could do it, you're strong enough. Just pack a bag and leave. He wouldn't be able to hurt you again."

"And where would I go?" Collins asked him, her voice resigned. They had had this conversation too many times for her to count. And it always came down to the same two things. Where would she go? (Daryl always told her that she was more than welcome at his apartment, but she didn't buy it.) And her mother. "I can't just leave my mom," she said, shaking her head. "I can't leave her alone with him. When I'm not there he hurts her. I couldn't do that to her, couldn't leave her in that house with no way to protect herself." Daryl had some choice words about Collins' mother. It was obvious that the teenager loved the older woman, but Daryl had almost as much of a problem with a mother who used her daughter as a shield as with a father who used the same little girl as a punching bag. But he didn't bring this up again, Collins hated it when he talked about her mother like that. "I love her," the younger girl said, "and if I can't take her with me then I'm not going to go. I just," she shook her head again and her bangs fell in her eyes, "I couldn't do it."

And that was too much for him. Daryl snorted angrily at her response, completely forgetting that he had decided not to say anything about her mother. "Funny," he countered, though nothing about the tone of his voice suggested that he was laughing. "That bitch has never given a damn about you. She's never spared you as much thought as you do for her. She just turns away and lets him hurt you. You love her, but she don't love you. Not the way a mother should love her girl. If she did she would have taken you out of that house years ago - after the first time he raised a hand to you. She don't deserve you. And she sure as hell, don't deserve any of your love. I say that she deserves whatever he throws at her when you leave."

Collins sighed quietly both at her friend's opinion and at his choice of words. There was no arguing with him when he got like this, no way to calm him down and even attempt to make him see her side of things. At times like this it was easiest to just let it go and change the subject. The other thing that had caught her attention was his word choice. He said when she left. _When _not _if_. No matter how many times she told him that she couldn't leave her mother alone with her father Daryl was convinced that one day she would. And if Collins knew one thing about Daryl Dixon after eleven years of friendship, she knew that when he wanted something, when he was truly determined, he got it. If he wanted her out of her father's house it would happen even if it meant that he had to drag her out himself. Something she wouldn't put past him, to be honest. She shook her head, she didn't want to talk about this anymore, she hadn't wanted to about it at all, but that was unavoidable. The reason that she had called Daryl was because she wanted someone to distract her from what was going on, she didn't want to talk about it. "So the boys at school are placing bets on whether you're my older brother or my older boyfriend," she said, changing the subject.

This time when Daryl snorted it was because he was laughing. He shook his head and Collins delighted in the playful glint in his dark blue eyes. "And why would they think I'm either of those things?" he asked her, joking. "What have you been telling them, Collins Davis?" The truth was that sometimes he felt as though he was both. He was her protector, he took care of her and he did his best to ensure that nothing ever happened to her, Unfortunately he was unable to protect her from the only real danger in her life - her father. Other times she almost treated him like a boyfriend. They didn't kiss, they didn't walk down the streets holding hands, but sometimes she would come over to his apartment and they'd cuddle on his couch and watch old black and white movies that she brought with her. And when she went bathing suit shopping he was the one she took with her. He doubted she treated any of the boys at her school like that.

"Nothing," Collins said, answering his question with an innocent shrug, though she flinched as the skin pulled over her injury. "They just can't think of any other reason as to why a twenty-six year old, a grown man, would want to hang out with a little high schooler who doesn't even have her license yet. Either you're my brother or you're getting laid." She shrugged and glanced at the older man for just long enough to stick her tongue out at him. "I told them that we are just friends and someone actually had the nerve to suggest that I was lying. And that the fact that I was lying meant that we were having sex on a regular basis." She shook her head, "It's ridiculous. It's like they've never heard of a platonic friendship."

Daryl nodded and quietly agreed with her, though as he glanced at her and his eyes traced her small, slender frame he had to admit to himself that he could do a lot worse than Collins Davis, even with the ten year age difference. She wasn't hard on the eyes at all and they had fun together. And if he had to he would be willing to bet that she would be an amazing lay, one that he might do a few times. He shook his head, trying to force the thoughts away. Collins was his friend, one of his only friends, and definitely one of his oldest friends. And she was significantly younger than him, he reminded himself. Daryl wasn't entirely sure what the age of consent was in Georgia, but he had a feeling that sleeping with Collins would be illegal. "So they don't believe you?" he asked her quietly with a gentle smile on his face.

"Nope," Collins said, popping the _p_ at the end of the word as she shook her head with a soft smile on her lips. "It doesn't matter though. It's not as though it's any of their damn business. What does it matter to them whether I'm sleeping with you or not? They're not my friends, not really, and they're definitely not your friend. They think they know everything about me, but they barely know me at all. It's stupid really," she said with a soft, gentle, even timid shrug. "It's so high school. Things like that don't matter in the real world. Though none of them have to worry about the real world, you know? None of them have real problems. Their biggest concerns are homework, prom, and whether their parents will let them go to some party over the weekend. None of them have to worry about," she stopped, she didn't want to continue that sentence.

"None of them have to worry about getting beat up by their dad," Daryl supplied for her as he leaned back in his chair and shot the young girl a look that silently told her that he understood exactly what she was going through. And she nodded, he did understand.

"Exactly," Collins said with a slight nod as she leaned her head against Daryl's shoulder. She turned slightly in her chair so that her face was pressed against Daryl's neck. He smiled softly as she lifted her hand and tugged gently at his shirt collar so that it would reveal one of the long, thin scars that decorated his collarbones. He didn't normally let people touch him, but Collins was his exception to the rule. Her finger gently traced along the jagged line in a barely there touch and Daryl had to fight against the shiver that wanted to run down his spine at her touch. "None of them have to worry about this," she whispered quietly.

They sat like this for a few moments before Daryl quietly reached up and stalled her hand. He didn't make her move her hand from his collarbone, he simply stilled the movement. He let his hand hold hers for a moment or two before he dropped his own hand. "So," he said quietly, trying to force his mind to stray from the thoughts of what he would do to this younger girl if they weren't in a very public place like the emergency waiting room. "One of these boys," he said, his voice more sure of itself now. "The ones taking bets on whether I'm your brother or your boyfriend. One of them wouldn't happen to be Kevin Light would it?" His tone was playful, almost teasing, but he was actually curious, he wanted to know.

Collins snorted out a laugh and shifted slightly, her face pressing even tighter against the warm skin on his neck for a moment before she pulled away. "Oh Kevin Light," she said with a slight shake of her head. "What is your problem with him? He's mildly annoying and when there are other people around he can be a bit of a douche bag because he's trying to show off. But he's generally harmless." Daryl shook his head silently, anyone that had a crush on a girl for eleven years was anything but harmless in his book. She stared at him for a moment, a fond look in her dark eyes. "Yes," she said with a nod, "he's placing bets. He's also the one who called last night and invited me to prom." Daryl nodded, he had assumed that. Kevin Light had been asking Collins to dances ever since they were old enough to go to the school dances.

"Are you planning on going with him?" he asked her quietly. Collins pulled away from his neck and sat in her seat staring at him for a moment before she shook her head. "The two of you could have fun," Daryl pointed out. "It would be more fun than going alone or not going at all." He wasn't sure why he was trying to persuade the younger girl to go to the dance with Kevin Light, he didn't really want her to. But a part of him figured that it would probably be better for her if she stopped hanging out with him so much and started hanging out with people her own age, or at least closer to it. "I just want you to have a good time," he explained with a shrug.

Collins raised her eyebrows at him, she hadn't asked him for an explanation as to why he was trying to get her to go to prom with Kevin Light. She silently wondered what made him think that she needed one. "I don't like him," she said with a small shrug. "I never have. I didn't like him when he told me he was my not-so-secret admirer. I didn't like him when he told everyone that I was his girlfriend in the fifth grade. I didn't like him when he asked me out in the eighth grade. I didn't like him when he auditioned for Petruchio last year in _Taming of the Shrew_ just because he knew I already had the role of Kate. And I don't like him now." She wasn't sure if she was saying this because she thought that Daryl didn't really believe her or if it was because she wanted to make sure that he understood exactly how she felt about the boy. She shrugged, "Besides," she said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "I already have a date to prom." This caught Daryl's attention, he turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "That's right," she said with a nod, slightly insulted at his surprise. "You." He laughed at her and shook his head. "No," she told him with a giggle of her own. "You told me, ten years ago when you went to prom that I was too young to go with you, but when I had a prom you would be my date. I remember."

"I can't believe you still remember that," Daryl chuckled.

"Yeah," Collins said with a nod, "just like I couldn't believe that you still remember that time you brought me to a haunted house and I got so scared that I peed my pants." Daryl shook his head and laughed at the memory. Collins rolled her eyes. "I was six years old, Daryl, and you had given me way too much soda - more than was good for me. Of course I wet my pants."

-.-.-.-.-

Daryl and his date hadn't been back at his apartment for more than an hour when a knock sounded on his door. The girl, a big breasted blonde, whispered that he should just ignore the person on the other side of the door, that they would go away and come back later. But Daryl couldn't do that. He always had this fear that one of these days the knock on the door would be someone there to inform him that Collins' father had finally done it - that he had killed her. He grunted and pulled out of the woman, he couldn't even remember her name and he was no where near drunk enough for that, he just didn't care. As he climbed off the bed he absentmindedly wondered if he had even bothered to ask the woman her name. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants off the floor and put them on as he moved toward the front door of his studio apartment. It wasn't much, but it was cheap and there was enough room for him, that's all he needed. He didn't bother looking through the peep hole before he opened the door.

Collins was on the other side, she was soaking wet and he could already see the black eye forming around her right eye. He quickly looked over her body, trying to find any other signs of injury. Her nose was bleeding and there was another split in her lip. And another bruise forming on her cheek that looked vaguely like a man's hand. She was wearing short sleeves and he could see hand shaped bruises on both of her upper arms, her father had grabbed onto her, tight, to keep her from running away from him before he was done with her. There weren't any major injuries, nothing that would make her go to the hospital. She was just bruised and bleeding and entirely broken and she had walked across town so that Daryl could comfort her. "It's raining," she whispered quietly, her voice cracking under the weight of unshed tears as she walked into his apartment. She didn't care that he was only wearing sweatpants and Daryl was sure that she didn't even notice the naked woman in his bed as she moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his warm, naked chest.

"Oh pretty girl," Daryl whispered quietly as he wrapped his own arms around her and dropped his face down to the top of her head so that he could press kisses against her hair. "What happened?" She didn't answer right away, she shook her head and Daryl was pretty sure that he heard her sob his name quietly. He flinched slightly, he wasn't good with women. Collins was the exception to that, but even then he wasn't sure what to do with her when she started to cry. "I don't know what to do here, or what to say right now," he said quietly in between kisses.

Collins shook her head again, but this time a laugh bubbled out from between her sobs. "You don't have to do anything," she whispered to him. "Or say anything. Nothing you do is really going to help. You just have to hug me and tell me that everything is going to be okay. Can you do that? Can you tell me that? Can you tell me that everything's going to be okay?"

"Sure I can," Daryl said with a nod. "I can tell you that." The question was if he could say it and mean it. "It's going to be okay, Collins," he said, his tone forceful, as if he could order everything in the world to be good for the girl in his arms. "It's going to be fine. I'll make sure of it, you'll see." The girl nodded against his chest and squeezed her arms around him tighter. Daryl gently guided the young girl in a half circle so that they were still standing and hugging each other, but now he could see the naked woman still on his bed. She was sitting up in the bed, she had no shame because she hadn't covered anything up, but she was glaring at the young girl wrapped in his arms for interrupting their evening. Daryl glanced pointedly at her clothes that were littered around his floor before he jerked his head toward the door behind him. He was surprised that he even had to do this for the woman. She should have seen this coming. The woman gave an indignant huff before she climbed off the bed and quickly got dressed. As she passed Daryl and the girl she hissed that he had no idea what he was passing on. "Probably the clap," he muttered, loud enough for the woman to hear before she left the apartment, slamming the door angrily behind her. Collins honestly hadn't noticed the woman in the bed, or the whispered conversation between the woman and Daryl, but she did notice the slamming door. She lifted her head off his chest in surprise with wide, scared brown eyes. "Shh," Daryl soothed her softly as he pulled her toward the kitchen. "It's okay. You're fine. That's just the door."

"I'm sorry," Collins whispered as Daryl lifted her up on his kitchen counter as if she was a young child. "Did I interrupt something?" Daryl shook his head, she really hadn't interrupted anything, and if he was being honest with himself he would rather spend time with the younger girl than with any of the women he brought home. He pulled his first aid kit off the top of the refrigerator and walked back over to the younger girl. "Thank you," she said, lifting one of her hands to brush the bangs out of her eyes. "Thank you for helping me." Daryl shrugged and tried to tell her that it wasn't a big deal. "Yes," she said with a gentle nod. "It is."

"What happened this time?" Daryl asked quietly as he began to clean the blood off the girl's face from her nose and her lip. Collins' eyes darted away from him, she didn't want to talk about it. Daryl sighed and turned back to the refrigerator so that he could grab a bag of peas from the freezer. "I get it," he told her as he handed her the peas and gestured that she should hold them to her eye in an attempt to keep the bruise from getting too bad. "I didn't like talkin' about it either, I don't like talkin' about it. But I would with you. Whenever you asked. You came here, you came to me for some kind of help. And you know what's gonna help you the most? Talkin' about it. So start talking. What happened to you tonight? What'd he do?"

"I joined a rugby team?" Collins joked, she tried to smile at her bad joke, but Daryl shot her a look that killed the smile before it reached her lips. She sighed, "I told him that I wanted to go to college. You know, away. He started yelling at me about how we don't have the money for that, and how could I be so selfish to expect him to pay for me to go to school. I told him that I didn't expect anything from him. That my grades are good, great even and that between scholarships and loans he wouldn't have to pay anything. I would pay off my loans. But he wouldn't listen to me. He just kept yelling at me that I wasn't allowed to talk back to him like that. He kept yelling that he had gotten enough of my lip and that if I didn't shut up he'd find a way to make me."

"And you didn't shut up," Daryl pointed out as he gently wiped the blood off his friend's swollen lip.

Collins cracked a smile at him, Daryl couldn't stop himself in delighting in the fact that even though she was bloody, bruised, and broken his friend could still find something in the situation to smile about. "I told him that maybe I'd write my application essays on how I survived my entire life with an alcoholic, abusive, bastard of a father and a mother who was too scared for her own skin to even try to protect me."

Daryl whistled, "I'm surprised he didn't try to kill you," he told the younger girl before he stepped away from the counter so that the small brunette could jump down. "Were you trying to get the shit beat outta you?"

"How quaint," Collins had teased him as she led the way to the couch and sat down. "I guess. He probably would have knocked me out, but I pulled this out of my boot and he left me alone after that." She reached down and pulled a sharp hunting knife out of her boot. She shot the older man an apologetic look as she handed it back to him. "I stole this from you the last time I was over here," she said quietly. "Do you want it back now? I shouldn't have taken it."

Daryl stared at the knife in his hand for a moment. He had been wondering where this knife had disappeared to. Of course Collins had taken it, but he couldn't be mad at her for taking it. In fact, after what she told him she had said to her father the night before he was glad that she had taken it. He gently passed the knife back to the younger girl. "You should probably keep this," he warned her quietly. She nodded and silently put the knife back in her boot. Daryl sat and stared at her for a full minute, she looked nervous under his gaze as if she was worried that he was going to yell at her for baiting her father like that. He wouldn't, in a strange way he was proud of her for what she had said, but now he was worried about what would happen when she went home to her very angry father. "Move in with me," he commanded quietly. He hadn't realized that he was going to say that, it had come out of his mouth before he had thought about it. But once it was out there he knew it was the right thing for Collins. He had suggested that she move in with him before, but he really meant it this time. And by the look on the teenager's face she knew that he meant it too. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "Move in with me. Tonight. I'll go with you back to your house so you can pack. I won't let him touch you and then you can come back here and you won't ever have to see him again." He nodded again, he liked this plan.

"And where would you take all your lovely girlfriends if I did that?" Collins asked him, her tone playful in a way it hadn't been in a while. Daryl stared at her in surprise. He hadn't realized that she had noticed the blonde in his bed when she came in. "Yeah," Collins said with a nod, "I did see blondie. She wasn't happy about you kicking her out for me," she told him quietly. "I doubt she'll answer the phone the next time you call."

Daryl chuckled and shook his head, "I wouldn't call again," he told her quietly. He glanced at his young friend, "You know I never call the same girl more than once. It gets boring if I do."

"Except for me," she told him quietly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Daryl nodded and turned his head so that he could press a kiss to her forehead, "Except for you pretty girl." They sat in silence for almost half an hour, just enjoying being in each other's company before Daryl pulled away from the younger girl just enough that he would be able to look her in her wide, brown eyes. "Confession," he said quietly, he smiled gently when he noticed the look of fear on Collins' face, she thought that he was going to tell her something bad. "The last time you were over here you brought that movie," he told her, pretending that he didn't know the name of the movie. "With that guy you like. The one who has the girl's name. And the sailors."

"Gene Kelly is not a girl's name," Collins snapped with a smile on her face that lessened the bite of her tone. "And the movie's call Anchors Aweigh, which you know. Don't even pretend you don't. Now what's your confession?" Daryl pulled away from her and walked over to his television. He sifted through his movies until he pulled out a specific video tape that had hearts drawn all over it in silver permanent marker. He turned around and showed it to the small brunette on the couch. She grinned at him and shook her head. "I was wondering where that had gone," she said quietly. "You stole it from me!"

"No," Daryl said as he popped the tape into his VCR. "Stealing is like when you took my best hunting knife out of my apartment and you didn't tell me. This wasn't stealing. You left this here and I just didn't bring it back to you or tell you that it was here."

"And you watched it by yourself," Collins guessed with a soft smile on her lips. "Don't even deny it, Dixon. You watched my 'stupid, black and white, chick flick' on your own. And you enjoyed it!" Daryl grinned and scratched the back of his head before he muttered something about not necessarily being alone when he watched it. "Eww!" Collins squealed as her friend made his way back to the couch. "Why do you tell me this shit? I don't want to know about your techniques to get women in bed with you! And I definitely don't want to know that you used my movie to do it! What would Gene Kelly say? What would he say, Daryl?"

"If he saw the girl I brought home he would probably congratulate me," Daryl chuckled when Collins pretended to gag. He threw his arm around her shoulders and hugged the small girl closer to him. "Don't you worry, pretty girl. You're still my favorite."

"Of course I am," Collins pointed out, her tone flat although she was smiling. "I'm the only woman that would put up with you for as long as I have." Daryl chuckled and shook his head at her, but he knew that she was right. She was the only one who would ever put up with his shit for so long and though he would never admit it out loud he was lucky to have her in his life.

-.-.-.-.-

"Okay," Daryl said softly once he and Collins had both gotten in the truck and buckled their seat belts. "It's best if you roll down your window when you're first learnin' to drive a stick. That way you can hear how the engine sounds. That's all you need really, to listen and feel. The engine will tell you when it's time to switch gears."

"That's easy for you to say," Collins said, rolling her eyes as she rolled down the window on the driver's side as Daryl had instructed her. "I'm pretty sure you were born being able to speak car language. All I know how to do is start a car and open the hood. You keep telling me that the engine will tell me things. And unless the damn thing is yelling at me in English I'm not going to know what it's trying to say." Daryl grinned at her and shook his head, Collins didn't like being bad at things, that was what this was. She was afraid of being bad at it. "Okay," she said once she had stopped complaining long enough to be ready to go. "What happens next?"

"Move your seat back so that you can see the pedals," Daryl commanded. Collins did as he asked and he pointed at the pedal on the far right. "That's your gas pedal," he told her. "You use that one when you want to go. If you push it down to the floor you will go very fast." Collins rolled her eyes at him and pointed out that she knew what the gas pedal was for. When she had asked him to teach her to drive she hadn't meant that he needed to dumb it down that much for her. Daryl held his hands up defensively, "Hey! You were the one who said all you knew how to do was start a car and pop the hood. I'm just bein' thorough." He pointed to the pedal in the middle, "That's the brake. And the one on the far left is the clutch. It's goin' to be the same order no matter what kind of car you're in."

Collins nodded, "Got it," she said with a smile. But Daryl didn't seem to believe her. They spent the next ten minutes playing what Daryl called _guess the pedal_ he would call out the name of a pedal and Collins would have to put her foot on it without looking. "Alright!" Collins finally muttered at the end of the ten minutes. "I get it Dare! I know where the pedals are. Can we do something else now?"

"Just making sure," Daryl said, "this truck is my baby. I don't want you killin' it. I wouldn't be happy if that happened." He pointed at the clutch, "So what this baby does is it interrupts the connection between the spinnin' engine and the wheels so that you can switch gears without grinding the teeth of each separate gear. There's no half-assin' this, the clutch has to be completely depressed bore you can switch gears. Do it, push it all the way down." Collins did as she was told and once Daryl was satisfied with her ability to fully depress the clutch he told her to adjust the seat to where she was comfortable. "You can't slam down on the clutch," he warned her. "Slow and gentle does it. Push the clutch down and switch the gear to neutral."

"I did it!" Collins yelled excitedly as she did what she was told. "I did it, Daryl! I did it. I switched gears."

"That's great," Daryl said, his tone sarcastic. "Except the truck isn't even runnin' right now so I'm not sure how difficult that is." Collins rolled her eyes at him and told him that he needed to stop ruining her happiness. Daryl rolled his eyes and ignored her, "Keep the clutch down on the floor and start the engine," he told her.

Collins did what she was told and when the truck roared to life she squealed with excitement and lifted her foot from the clutch. "Oh shit!" she yelled when she realized that she had moved her foot without Daryl telling her to. She glanced at the older man, hoping that he wasn't going to start yelling at her for ruining his transmission. "I'm so sorry, Dare! I didn't mean to! Please don't tell me I've killed your truck!" she apologized.

Daryl chuckled and shook his head, "When the truck is running and its in neutral you can take your foot off the clutch. But only then. You hear what I'm sayin' to you?" Collins nodded quietly as she put her foot back on the clutch and gradually depressed the pedal. "Good," Daryl said with a nod. "Now switch into first gear, easy does it. Good. Try to do it a bit smoother than that next time." He paused, thinking for a moment. "What I want you to do now is to slowly lift your foot from the clutch. When you hear the engine start to drop push the clutch back in. That point when the engine drops is called the friction point." Collins nodded and did as he told her to do. "You'll get used to it eventually," Daryl pointed out.

Collins nodded, "Okay, I don't really know what the friction point is. But can we start driving now?"

"Okay," Daryl sighed, silently enjoying the girl's excitement. "You need to lift your foot off the clutch and depress the gas pedal," Collins nodded and quickly did what he told her to do. "Slowly!" Daryl yelled as the engine stalled. Collins stared at him with wide eyes, Daryl had never yelled at her like that. "Jesus Christ, Collins," Daryl growled out, "you need to listen to instructions before you go around messing with people's trucks!"

"You should have said _slowly_ first!" Collins growled back. "You told me to lift my foot off the clutch and to press down on the gas. I did that! It's your own damn fault you didn't put the important word at the beginning of the sentence."

"Yeah?" Daryl asked angrily. "I suppose it is my own damn fault for assuming that since everything else we've done with the clutch was slow and gentle you would know that this needed to be slow too. Jesus Christ." He lifted his hand to gesture at something, but stopped when he noticed the way Collins flinched away from his hand, a fearful look in her brown eyes. "Jesus Christ," he muttered again, this time quietly, this time aimed at himself. "I'm sorry Collins. I would never hurt you, you know that, right?"

Collins nodded and Daryl was shocked to see a small tear slip out of her eye and slide down her cheek. "I know," she agreed quietly. She flinched away from him again when he reached out to wipe the tear off her cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly when she say the pained look cross over Daryl's face. "I'm not normally like this," she assured him, though he knew this already.

"How bad has it been recently?" Daryl asked her quietly, ignoring her apology. She didn't need to apologize, not to him. "Collins," he warned her when she glanced away from him. "How bad has it been, really?" She sighed and told him that it had been pretty bad at home, apparently her father had been laid off from his job and he had found a way to blame it on his daughter. Daryl swore and shook his head, how had he not realized that? "And how come no one at your school has realized this?" he asked her, his tone angry. "They see you everyday. How the hell don't they realize what he does to you?"

Collins shrugged quietly, "People see what they want to see, Daryl. I don't fit the bill for the _normal_ abused child. I'm not withdrawn or moody, or shy and quiet. I'm happy at school, I interact, I let people think that they're my friends. And make-up does wonders on bruises." She sighed and shook her head, "And I lie. The people at the hospital legitimately think I joined a rugby team. No one wants to believe that the beautiful, smart, and happy girl is abused. Because I'm the girl that life is just supposed to work out for. No one's looking for abuse here because if I'm getting hurt, being hit by my own father then what hope is there for anyone else?" She shook her head slightly, "There isn't any." Daryl sighed quietly, he didn't say anything because deep down he knew that she was right.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Happy Walking Dead Day!  
So, just to let you guys know, you are all kinds of amazing. And I love you all!  
I'm so glad that you guys liked the last chapter and I hope that you liked this one as well!  
Special thanks goes to: _Edy12345, Leyshia Gisel, Lilone1776, MonkeysGoBoo, MuffinnLovve, RainbowShelby, Randi123, StevieB7, Dhalia89, poppins29, scythe195, Frozen Megami, Malachite16819, _and _SilentReader13_ who added this story to their Favorites List.  
And to: _AbbieAwesome, BeckyBooReedus, DanielleBurkex3, Edy12345, Embers in the flames, Ithilya, Leyshia Gisel, MuffinnLovve, RainbowShelby, Randi123, StevieB7, ancapd, a star fall, dramaticgeek, gleeful-reader, kelizabeth13, lexigurl0989, manda90, megwest88, purplecarebear36957, sdxdoll, shyannene, synismysin, twifreak461, xxbloodqueenxx, RachelNicole523, Juleslilou, SilentReader13, _and _COLORLESSLYFE_ who added this story to their Alerts List.  
But the **BIGGEST **of special thanks goes to the **nineteen **of you that **REVIEWED!  
****Ithilya: **Thank you for your review! I hope you liked this chapter as well!  
**BeckyBooReedus: **I'm glad that you can see Daryl like that! We've seen hints of it on the show with Ass Kicker and I think that's why this idea wormed its way into my head. I was like, if he can be this sweet and gentle with a baby he just met, imagine how he would be with a younger friend. And then five year old Collins happened. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this one just as much!  
**Randi123: **Thank you! I hope that you liked this chapter as well (even if Collins isn't as adorable and little anymore).  
**Edy12345: **I'm really happy that everyone enjoyed the first chapter as much as you guys did! But I worry that you guys are going to be let down when the following chapters aren't as cute. I hope that you liked this chapter too though, I really do!  
**a star fall: **Hello! Thank you so much for your review! I smiled when I read it. And thank you for complimenting my writing style! That's always fun to read. And I'm glad you're enjoying my non-creepy relationship between Daryl and the younger Collins. (What people in the town think of it is going to show up later. :D)  
**Embers in the flames: **And I was smiling when I read your review! Thank you so much for stopping by to read this! And thank you for reviewing! And look at you! Reading both my Walking Dead stories! I'm so glad you're enjoying both of them! And I hope that you liked this chapter as well!  
**StevieB7: **Another person who reads both my stories! I love it! And I'm glad that you made the jump from AWASG to this one! Thank you for your review, I loved it and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**RainbowShelby: **I work with kids too! (And I have a god daughter) and it was so hard to write about the abuse for the young girl. But at the same time it was fun. I'm trying to figure out how to describe it without sounding like a horrible person, but child abuse is a dark topic I haven't tried to tackle before and it was a challenge to pit the child abuse against the cute friendship developing between Daryl and Collins. And I love challenges! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope that you liked this one just as much!  
**Leyshia Gisel: **Little kids are fun like that, especially little girls. I've learned from my kids at work that when little girls decided that they like someone, they're set for life. Collins is like that, at five years old she already knows that Daryl's it for her. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope that you liked this one as well! Thank you for your review!  
**ScornedxRose: **I ABSOLUTELY love when people quote the story back to me! So thank you for that! And yeah, I'm pretty sure that one line was my favorite part of the whole chapter! I hope that you liked this chapter as well!  
**RachelNicole523: **Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad that you liked the last chapter and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**goodnightlove: **Writing ten pages of adorable big brother Daryl made me happy. And probably made me fall even more in love with the guy just from imagining him interacting with a five year old.  
And I'm so glad that this is different from AWASG. I love both of them, but I wanted this one to be different. And my writing style is "good and so inviting"? I love this! Thank you! And don't be jealous of my writing style, you should love me for it! I'll keep posting chapters if you do! And if you're only _almost addicted_ I'm just going to have to up my game, yo. :D  
**Dhalia89: **Thank you so much for your review! I hope you liked this chapter too!  
**scythe195: **Here's the second chapter dear! I hope you loved it. Thank you so much for not only reading it, but for taking the time to review!  
**Maddy: **You were my first review! (But since you're a guest it took a while to pop up!) Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter and I hope that you enjoyed this one just as much!  
**Em: **This chapter wasn't as adorable as the last chapter, but I hope you liked it as much as the first one! Thank you so much for taking the time to review!  
**Rachael: **You read Angel too? Aww! I love it! Well thank you for making the jump from one story to another! And for this one to be your favorite after just one chapter? Ah! I'm so happy! And don't you know how to flatter an author? I legitimately grinned and squealed when reading your review! I still get surprised when people like my stories and my writing style! So thank you so much for the compliment!  
**SilentReader13: **Hey,  
I just wanted to say thank you so much for your review! I'm really happy that you're enjoying this story and I hope that you liked this chapter as well! Even if it wasn't as adorable as the first chapter (it would be hard to out adorable that one.)  
**Malachite16819: **Here's the next chapter dear! I'm happy that you enjoyed the first chapter enough to beg me to post this chapter. I hope I didn't make you wait too long for the second chapter. And I hope that you enjoyed it as much as you enjoyed the first one!  
And that's all I've got for now! Thank you guys so much for all of your support!  
I hope you liked this chapter as well!  
Have a great day.  
Until next time, happy reading!  
Hugs and kisses,  
Chloe Jane.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any recognizable characters. I wish I did though, me and Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus would have some fun if I did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It's Sunday Funday!  
Walking Dead and a new chapter?  
Do I know how to spoil you guys or what?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just a reminder:  
1. I'm playing around with Daryl's age a bit in this. In the show Daryl's in his early to mid 40s when the zombie apocalypse happens. In this story he's going to be thirty-six.  
2. There will be ten chapters in this story. (No more, no less.) But they will be long chapters, ten pages each. So by the time this story is done you guys will have read one hundred pages about Daryl and Collins.  
3. Each chapter is going to be about a different age. The characters are going to be getting older with each chapter, there will be no flashbacks, but there is really no rhyme or reason as to how much time has passed between each chapter.  
4. This story is going to have its good and happy moments. But it is not going to be a particularly happy story.  
5. There will be mentions and descriptions of **domestic violence**. If that is a **trigger** for you (**then you're probably not a fan of Daryl Dixon and probably aren't reading this story**) but here's the warning just in case.  
6. Reviews are like air. I love them.

And if anyone's still reading this ... here's the third chapter:

* * *

Daryl could not stop the slow, easy grin that spread across his lips when he walked into the bar and caught sight of Collins standing on top of the bar. She wasn't twenty-one yet, not even close really. She had just turned eighteen and she didn't belong in this bar, but she worked there after school and on the weekends so her boss and coworkers had offered to let her throw her birthday party there. She was swaying back forth to the music with one of the girls from her school and she was sipping coke through a straw. But based on the flush on her cheeks and the way too happy squeal that escaped her lips when she saw him, Daryl guessed that someone had slipped her a shot or two when the bartender wasn't looking. She grinned at him and dropped gracefully off the bar so that she could walk over to him. Or run, she definitely ran at him. "Daryl!" she cheered, just a bit too loudly, as she approached the twenty-eight year old. "Guess what? Guess what? I'm legal! I, Collins Marie Davis, am legal! Come celebrate! I'm legal!"

"Yeah," Daryl agreed with a nod as his eyes drifted over his young friend. "I reckon you are." She grinned at him and gave him a slow turn as if seeing her from all sides would definitely prove that she was eighteen now. She looked good and one quick look around at the men in the bar told him that everyone had realized it. He glared at an older man at the bar who had actually licked his lips in Collins' direction. She was wearing a pair of cowboy boots and a short, frayed jean skirt. Her flat stomach was uncovered, for a shirt she was wearing a bright pink strapless band bra and a black and white plaid shirt that was tied just under her breasts. Daryl swallowed, he shouldn't be looking at his friend like this, thinking about her like this. He glanced back up at her and noticed that her eyes were sparkling happily, "Happy birthday," he muttered as if he had finally remembered why everyone was there that night. He snapped out of his daze and moved forward so that he could wrap the small brunette up in a tight hug.

"Notice anything different?" Collins asked quietly, she jumped up and down slightly under her friend's intense gaze. Daryl shrugged, he wasn't sure what she wanted him to say. She grinned at him and gave him another turn, this one slower than the last, allowing him to take in every bit of her outfit, every inch of her bare skin (which he was sure there was too much of). He tried to focus on the clothes, he was happy for her and it was her birthday and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin it by getting angry about the bruises or marks on her body. But then he noticed what she wanted him to notice, her scars were still there - an odd mix of bright pink and white scars and ones that were more faded, but they were the only marks on her skin. No bruises, no fresh cuts, no bandages. Just scars. Collins nodded when she finished her full spin, she could tell by the surprised and slightly awed look on her friend's face that he knew what she was silently telling him. "I moved out," she whispered quietly. "Two weeks ago. I wanted to tell you, but you were busy with trying to get Merle settled again when he got out of jail. I didn't want to interrupt that or anything. Figured I would just tell you when I saw you."

Daryl shook his head and moved forward again so that he could hug his young friend, "That wouldn't of been interrupting," he told her as he lifted her off the ground and spun her around in a small, tight circle. "I wouldn't of minded hearin' this news," he added as he set her back down on her feet. She grinned up at him and placed her hands on his shoulders as she threw her head back and giggled. Daryl chuckled and shook his head down at her before he glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of the people at her party, they were staring at the two friends with eyebrows lifted in confusion or suspicion. He nodded at them over her shoulder, "You wanna go back to your party?" he asked her quietly. "They seem to want you back."

Collins turned her head to look at the party over her shoulder and Daryl stared at the long line of her neck, he tried not to imagine what it would feel like to run his tongue over her neck, to learn just what it would take to drive Collins Davis wild. He swallowed around a lump in his throat and tried to fight the blush rising on his cheeks when Collins turned back to him. She raised her eyebrows at his slightly pink cheeks, but she didn't question him. She shook her head, "No," she said quietly. "I don't want to go back to the party," she added when Daryl raised his own eyebrows in confusion. She shrugged, a gentle smile resting on her lips. "They've had me all night," she whispered as if she thought that if she talked too loud it would break the spell they seemed to be under at the moment. Daryl glanced over her shoulder for another moment, his hand tightening slightly on her hip before he asked her what it was that she wanted to do. "Your cabin," she said quietly. "I want to go there." Daryl raised his eyebrows at her in surprise and she nodded.

"Just the two of us?" Daryl asked, his tone slow and cautious.

"Well no one else is going to fit in your two seater truck," Collins said with a soft shrug before she extracted herself out of Daryl's arms and walked toward the door. Daryl stayed where he was, he wasn't sure if he would be able to move, no matter how much he wanted to. She turned at the door and glanced at him over her shoulder, there was a dark look in her brown eyes that promised him things he had only imagined doing with her before that moment. He nodded, he could move now, and he definitely wasn't going to miss this. "Took you long enough to get moving," Collins whispered when Daryl met her out on the sidewalk. He glanced around at the people on the sidewalk and caught sight of more than one man openly staring at his friend. A growl rose from the back of his throat and he practically tore off his leather jacket before he dropped it down on Collins' thin shoulders. She raised her eyebrows at him, "Okay cave man," she teased playfully even though she slipped her arms into the jacket sleeves.

"Don't make me zip it up for you too," Daryl warned as he began to lead the way to his truck. "Do you need to stop by your place? Pick anything up? Or are you good to go?" Collins smiled at her friend and bit her lip to keep from pointing out that he was very eager. She knew the man well enough to know that this would ruin anything she had planned for the night. She wasn't even sure what she had planned for them, she had gotten three shots of rum at her party and she could feel the alcohol in her veins, giving her courage. But she wasn't sure how long that would last. She might lose her nerve in the hour and a half it would take them to get to the cabin, they might just end up hanging out like they usually did. The only saving grace in that was that Daryl was too good of a man to be disappointed if that happened. He would never force her to do anything she wasn't completely comfortable with. And if she was being honest with herself she would have to admit that if anything, it would be her trying to persuade him and not the other way around. "Collins?" he asked her when she was quiet for a beat too long.

"Sorry," she apologized as she shook her head at him. "No, I'm fine with what I've got. Let's go. We've got some driving to do." Daryl nodded and moved around to the passenger side of his truck. He unlocked the door and opened it so that Collins could climb in. The younger girl stopped herself from pointing out how much of a gentleman he was being - that would make her friend nervous. "What?" she pouted instead. "I don't get to drive?" she asked once he had climbed into the driver's seat. Her brown eyes were impossibly wide, Daryl looked away.

Daryl chuckled and shook his head, "After the number of times you've stalled out in this thing?" he asked her as he started the truck and pulled out of his parking spot. "Hell no. Besides, I'm betting that you've had more than your fair share of alcohol tonight." He reached out a patted his dashboard, "I'm not gonna let her hurt you, baby. Don't you worry 'bout that."

Collins crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from them, she huffed out her next breath, playfully indignant. "That was when I was first learning," she muttered more to herself than to him. "I haven't stalled the engine in at least a month and a half." Daryl snorted at that. She turned and fixed him with a playful glare, "Besides," she said, "you can't use alcohol as an excuse. You drink and drive _your baby_ all the time."

Daryl couldn't argue with that. He did. He turned to look at Collins and he shook his head slightly, she opened her mouth to argue with him, but he cut her off before she could, "Never with you in the car," he pointed out to her. She opened her mouth to argue with him again, but as she processed what he said she shut it again. Daryl nodded, "Yeah," he said, looking away from her and back to the road. "Nothing to say there, huh?"

They were quiet for the rest of the ride, didn't say much to each other. Collins rolled down the window and stuck her hand out of it, enjoying the cool night air while she sang along softly to the songs on the radio. They stopped twice about thirty minutes before they reached the cabin. Once to get McDonalds because Collins decided that she needed it the second she saw the golden arches from the road. And once at a small grocery store on the road so that they could buy some cheap wine (for Collins) and some even cheaper beer (for Daryl). He watched her as they got closer to the cabin, she got quieter the closer they got. Daryl could tell that she was nervous about something and he silently made the executive decision that nothing was going to happen between them that night. She was nervous. She was just barely eighteen. And he was ten years older than her. He hadn't been thinking when he thought that they could ever be anything more than friends. But then she turned and looked at him with her bright smile and his thoughts ran away from him again. To a place where he could imagine waking up next to her in the morning with her brown hair laying curly and slightly messy on the pillow underneath her head and that smile on her face. It really wasn't fair that she could do this to him.

He parked the truck and she grabbed the fast food bag and the grocery store bag of alcohol and followed him to the front door. The cabin wasn't much, it had been in his family for years and it wasn't more than two rooms. A big room with a few mismatched couches and a small kitchen on one end and a bedroom with a double bed in it. There was an outhouse in the back and a generator that supplied electricity to the small building. It wasn't anything to be proud of, but it had been in the Dixon family for generations. It was one of the only things Daryl had been happy to get from his father when the old man had passed away. Collins followed him into the kitchen and he went through the cabinets, trying to find a glass that was clean enough for her. He stopped looking when he heard her giggling behind him. He turned around to see her sitting daintily on the kitchen counter. She had somehow found the corkscrew and opened her bottle. But instead of waiting for Daryl to find her a glass she was drinking out of the bottle. He shook his head at her slightly, "I don't think this kitchen has ever looked so good," he teased gently.

She shrugged she shoulders as she slipped off the counter and headed toward the door that led to the back of the house. "What can I say?" she asked him as she opened the door and pushed at the screen door beyond it. "I light up any room I'm in." Daryl could hear the sarcastic tone to her voice, but he didn't think she was joking, he honestly thought that she could light up any room, not that he would ever say it out loud. He followed her out back, he wasn't sure if he could call it a back yard. There was a small porch on the back of the house that was full of rusted junk and then there was a small clearing, the outhouse, and a small path that led through the trees to the river behind the cabin. It really wasn't anything special, but Collins didn't seem to mind. She flopped down on the grass and stared up at the sky, their town wasn't big, but it didn't have stars like this. She patted the grass next to her, "I'm in heaven," she told him and Daryl could hear the smile in her voice. "Come join me."

Daryl grabbed one of his beers and used the bottle opener attached to his keys to open it before he sat down next to Collins. She shook her head at him, "You're doing it wrong," she informed him quietly. "You can't see the stars as well when you're sitting like that. Lay down with me."

Daryl shook his head, "You're crazy if you think that I'm gonna lay down in this grass," he told her.

"But I'm the birthday girl," Collins pouted playfully. "And when I was younger you used to always tell me that I got anything I wanted on my birthday. You've been telling me that for years, you can't go back on your word now." Daryl sighed and slouched down so that he was almost horizontal, he was leaning on his elbows so that he could still sip his beer. Collins stared at him for a moment before she mimicked his position and lifted her wine bottle to her lips. "I've always liked it here," she murmured once she had taken a swig. "It's peaceful." Daryl grunted in agreement as he shifted so that he could pull his wallet and keys out of his back pocket and get a bit more comfortable.

They sat like that for a good hour, maybe more. They didn't talk much, they really didn't need to. That had always been one of Collins' favorite parts of their relationship. They didn't need to talk. They could just sit in comfortable silence and be happy. The first time either of them talked in more than a whisper was when Daryl grunted out, "The beer's gone."

Collins nodded and held up the wine bottle that had been laying on the grass next to her. "Wine too," she said with a soft giggle.

Daryl grinned at her. "And I think you've had a bit too much to drink," he told her.

"Whatever," Collins muttered before she rolled over on her side so that she could look at Daryl a little easier. She propped her chin in her hand and studied the man in front of her. He wouldn't look her in the eye, he was nervous about something. She wondered what he was nervous about. She glanced at the small stretch of grass between them and her eyes lighted on the wallet. "Hmm," she said as she reached out to snatch the wallet. "Let's see what Daryl Dixon has in his wallet." Daryl growled half heartedly in protest and muttered something about his license, but he didn't stop her from taking and opening his wallet. "What's this?" she asked as she pulled out a piece of dirty, folded paper from behind his drivers' license.

This time his protest was actually real when she started to unfold the paper. "Don't," he warned her, rolling onto his side so that he could make a grab for the paper. Collins shook her head at him and rolled away from him so that she could see what was so important about the paper. "Collins! Give that back!" Daryl ordered as he moved closer to her. But it was too late, she had already unfolded the paper. It was a picture, full of stick figures and it was honestly horrible she glanced up at the label that was written in a shaky child's hand, _Collins and Dareille_.

"Daryl," she whispered quietly as the man grabbed her around the waist and rolled her away from the picture that was laying in the grass. "I drew that for you." He nodded, they had finally stopped rolling and she was laying on her back in the grass, but instead of seeing the stars all she could see was Daryl's face, he was hovering over her, his arms keeping the bulk of his weight off her body. "I drew that for you thirteen years ago and you've kept it in your wallet all this time?"

Daryl shrugged and looked away from her, he was uncomfortable. "I told you that I was gonna keep it forever," he explained, still refusing to meet her gaze. "I haven't broken that promise yet." Collins stared up at him for a full minute, her eyes were drinking in his face. He still looked uncomfortable, but that look quickly shifted to confusion when Collins pushed herself up onto her elbows and surged to his level, pressing her lips against his in a desperate kiss.

This caught Daryl by surprise. For almost a full minute he neither pulled away nor kissed her back. If Collins had been more sober she would have taken this as a hint that he didn't want her and pulled away. Hell, she wouldn't have just pulled away she would have run away, to the highway, hitched a ride back to town. But that night she was drunk enough and determined enough that she wasn't going to let Daryl's shock interfere with this. Her tongue slipped out of her mouth and traced Daryl's lips. He parted them for her with a growl and she smiled triumphantly against his lips as she slipped her tongue into them, exploring every corner of his mouth with her tongue. Daryl's tongue met hers, sliding against it, in a kind of dance and he grabbed onto her hips and rolled them over so that she was on top with her hair falling around them.

They kissed like this for a long time. Collins wasn't sure how long they had laid on the grass, tangled in each other, and kissing desperately; but she was sure that she had never kissed anyone like this before. After a while, though she didn't want to, she pulled away from Daryl's lips so that she could breathe. Both of their chests heaved in an effort to get air into their lungs and the sound of their breathing sounded harsh after their kiss. Daryl stared at her for a moment before he reached up and carefully brushed some of Collins' brown hair behind her ear. His hand lingered, fingering at the cartilage piercings, tugging slightly on them. Collins leaned into his touch and gasped slightly at the mix of pleasure and pain. "What now?" Daryl asked her softly, leaving the ball in her court. He had been thinking about this for a while, imagining what it would be like to have Collins, but she was just barely eighteen and ten years younger than him. He was almost thirty and the last thing he wanted to do was take advantage of the young girl.

But he wasn't the only one who had been imagining what this would be like. Collins had been imagining this with Daryl since she was fifteen and the first time she had looked at him and seen that he was actually a good looking man. She leaned down and pressed her lips against his in one more kiss. "Bedroom," she whispered against his lips. Daryl leaned far enough away from her so that he would be able to look her in her eye, to make sure that she was sure. She bit her lip and nodded, she was nervous, but she was sure. He let another growl build in the back of his throat as he rolled them over again and quickly stood up. He reached down and held his hand out to her and they quickly headed back into the house. Daryl stopped just for a moment to pick up the wallet and the picture that Collins had drawn for him so many years ago. He couldn't risk it raining and that picture getting ruined. He had a promise to keep.

When he got to the bedroom Collins was waiting for him on the bed. Daryl moved closer to her and kissed her again. "I want you to know that this is different," Daryl told her as he reached up and began to slowly undo the buttons on Collins' shirt. "What's about to happen here, between us, it's different for me. It's important. You're important. And tomorrow when the sun comes up you'll still be important." Collins rolled her eyes as if what Daryl was saying didn't matter to her, but Daryl caught the soft smile that rested on her lips. Daryl had had a lot of women in his life, but none of them mattered to him, not like her.

-.-.-.-.-

"Well, hello to you too," Daryl chuckled when he finally managed to pull away from Collins' lips. It was May, the girl would be graduating from high school soon and even though she had her own place ever since her birthday she had come over to his apartment more often than she used to, not that he was complaining. He enjoyed seeing her, always had, and since her birthday there were extra perks to their relationship. She grinned up at him for a moment before she surged onto her tiptoes and kissed him again. He chuckled and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist before he pulled her fully into the apartment and shut the door behind them. Before Collins he had never understood the appeal of sleeping with a virgin, he had always believed that he wasn't built for virgins - that it wasn't his job to break anyone in. But Collins was fun. And though she lacked experience she more than made up for it with her eager attitude and her excellent instincts. Over the last two months Daryl had honestly enjoyed helping her figure out what she liked in the bedroom and what she didn't. They had tried almost every position Daryl could imagine, but there were still somethings they hadn't tried.

Collins pulled away from her friend and bit her lip nervously. Daryl reached his hand up and gently tugged her lip free from her teeth. He knew her tells too well, he could figure out when she was nervous so easily. Collins briefly wondered if she should be worried that she was so easy for him to read. "I'm ready," she said quietly, her brown eyes darting away from the older man. She had trouble maintaining eye contact at times like this when she was nervous. "Let's do it." Daryl didn't have to ask her what she wanted to do, he had only been asking her to let him do this since their first night. He raised his eyebrows at her in surprise, as if silently asking her if she was completely sure and okay with her decision. She bit her lip again and nodded. "Yeah," she said once she had released her kiss swollen lip from her teeth, "I'm sure. Let's do this."

Daryl chuckled and shook his head as he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the bed. This was so like him and Collins. There was no romance to what she had said, no attempt to turn him on (which probably turned him on more than he wanted to admit). And that was good. He had been worried when he found out that Collins was a virgin. He wondered if he should have assumed that she was, but he had never wanted to think about her with anyone else. He had been worried because in his experience virgins got clingy and were easily convinced that the loved the man that they lost their virginity to. Daryl had never had the patience for that type of girl and he had worried that Collins would turn into that type; that she would want more from him than he could give her. The word _Boyfriend_ had haunted his mind for the first week after they had slept together.

But he didn't need to worry. A boyfriend was the last thing that Collins had wanted. And they had quickly decided on friends with benefits. Daryl wouldn't sleep with anyone else and neither would Collins. They were friends first, and then lovers. If at any point either of them wanted to end the arrangement they would do that with no hurt feelings and they would go back to just being friends. Daryl was happy with that and so far it seemed that Collins was too.

When they got to the bed Daryl scooped the small brunette up in his arms and tossed her giggling form onto his bed. "You best stop laughin' at me," he warned as he crawled his way up the bed and straddled the younger girl's hips. "I'm likely to wonder if you're not as into this as you want me to think you are."

"Oh?" Collins asked, raising her eyebrows as she lifted herself onto her elbows so that she could lick, kiss, suck, and bite her way up Daryl's neck. "And if I wasn't that into this why would I keep coming back?" she whispered, her voice already husky as Daryl slipped one calloused hand up her shirt and let it settle at the small of her back. "Last I checked I was the one that forced myself on you the first time we fucked." Daryl snorted at that, he had been cautious but not reluctant. Collins would never have had to force herself on him. He turned his head to the side so that he could press his lips against hers and they kissed for a few minutes before Collins groaned and shifted her hips underneath him, silently telling him that she needed more than kisses. Daryl was only too happy to comply with the brunette's silent request.

The hand at the small of her back traveled up her back to her bra, dragging the shirt with it. He pushed her shirt off and threw it onto the floor behind him, they'd find it later and if it was up to him it would be much, _much_ later. He peppered her collarbones and the top of her breasts with kisses as he worked on unhooking her bra. They had never done it this slow, even their first time together. Daryl regretted that. He wasn't the type to do sex slow; he fucked, he didn't make love_,_ but this was Collins and she was different from any other girl he had ever been with because he honestly cared about her. The problem with their first time together was that they had both been waiting so long for it, imagining it, and the alcohol hadn't helped that. They didn't have time to take it slow. All either of them were concerned with was more. More skin, more touching, more kissing, more speed, just _more_. This time he was going to do it right for the girl because she deserved it. He got the bra off of her and pulled away from her so that he could look at her. He reached out both of his hands and allowed them to travel over her breasts, pausing just for a moment so that his fingers could pinch her nipples in an almost painful grasp, before the calloused fingers traveled further down, over her flat stomach to the waist band of her pants. Collins groaned, a mix of pleasure and exasperation, at the slow pace Daryl had set. Daryl shook his head and bit back a chuckle, "No," he told her when the younger girl bucked her hips up into his hand. "We never done it like this before. And we're doing it right, proper like. You deserved that for the first time and I didn't give it to you."

Collins' impatient brown eyes softened at his statement and she stopped trying to tempt him into moving faster. Daryl stared down at her, his fingers drifted lazily back toward her breasts. She really was beautiful, even with the scars that covered her body. She watched him as he looked over her body, she didn't bother to try to cover her scars with her hands like she had done on their first night together, she knew better now, but she still looked uncomfortable. Daryl would do anything to make her stop feeling that way about herself. He dipped his head and kissed and licked his way across the scar on her stomach that she had gotten when she was five. "You're beautiful," he told her as he lifted his head back to her level so that he could look into her eyes while he told her this, he hoped that she would believe him.

Collins shook her head, "I'm broken," she told him softly as she looked away from him. Daryl shook his head and reached out to grab her chin and force her to look at him. He stared into her eyes, they were blown wide and dark with lust but he could still make out the ring of purple around her iris that he loved so much, and the look of shame in her eyes when they talked about her scars. He shook his head again, silently arguing with her. "I am," she told him.

"But still beautiful," he told her, dropping his lips down on top of hers as if that would make her believe him, make her see what he saw when he looked at her. She lifted her hands to cup his face and keep him close to her and he dropped one of his hands down between them so that he could unzip her pants. When he pulled away from her lips she made a noise of protest at the back of her throat. Daryl chuckled and dropped a closed mouth kiss onto her parted lips. "I ain't goin' nowhere," he told her, his voice rough with lust. "Well, I am, but you'll be goin' with me."

She nodded and let go of his cheeks. He started at her chin, teeth, tongue, and lips to work his way down her throat, over her breasts, down her stomach, and over each of her hipbones before he stopped at the top of her pants, dipping his tongue under the waistband, teasing her with what was to come. On his way down he had stopped a few times, using his teeth to mark her, he normally wasn't this possessive with the women he brought home, but they were different. They were just women, Collins was _his_ woman. And the moans that she would emit when he scraped his teeth against her bare skin was enough of an incentive for him to change his habits too. His marks hadn't been random, he had planned them, planting them on some of her most gruesome scars so that when she saw them in the mirror later that night or the next morning she wouldn't focus on the scar like he knew she usually did. Instead she'd focus on the bruised mark, and the memory of what they had done.

"Are you quite finished yet?" Collins asked, her breathing harsh as her chest rose and fell rapidly. Daryl glanced up at her from her hips and raised his eyebrows, "Are you finished playing with me yet? I'm sure your mama told you that it wasn't nice to tease people." Her scolding lost most of its bite from the fact that she was still having trouble controlling her breathing.

Daryl's content smile spread into a smirk. "Oh _Sweetheart_," he said, his tone low and soft. "My mama also told me never to play with my food. But I always thought it wasn't worth eating if I didn't get to play with it first." Collins gulped at his statement and Daryl grinned at her before he lifted his chin off of her hipbone and glanced down at her pants. "You want these to come off?" he asked her. She nodded silently, her eyes darkening even more. His grin widened grasped her pants and started to slowly pull them down her legs. His lips followed the pants, kissing and nipping at every new inch of exposed skin on her right leg. When he finally got the pants off he grabbed her left ankle and worked his way up her left leg, giving it the same treatment he had given her right leg. "I suppose this will have to come off too," he said quietly once he as done and staring at the only piece of clothing Collins had left, a small pair of black panties.

"If it must," Collins said quietly, though her tone was more excited than she wanted him to know. Daryl grinned cheekily at her before reached out for the underwear. Collins shook her head and crossed her legs so that he couldn't take the underwear off right away. "You first," she commanded, sitting up so that she could slip her hands under his shirt and work to take it off. "You need to play catch up." Daryl tried to push her hands away, he told her that the point of this was for her, but she didn't listen to him. He tried again, repeating what he had told her before. Collins sighed, "Don't you get it Dare?" she asked as she reached for his pants. "This is for me. I _need_ to feel your skin." The desperate tone her voice took on when she said the word was enough for Daryl to stop fighting her and to help her get his pants off. Now they were both sitting on his bed in nothing but their underwear.

Daryl gently pushed her back down so that she was laying on his bed, her brown hair a wavy mess across the blankets underneath her head. He gestured toward the pillows above her head. "Use 'em," he told her. She looked at him, confused. He smiled at her, enjoying her innocence. "I ain't a girl, so I don't have a mirror for you to use. But the pillows will work good enough. You'll be able to see what I'm doing if you use 'em." Collins blushed, and she wouldn't make eye contact with him, but she did reach behind her and adjust the pillows so that she could lay back on them and still see what Daryl would be doing. He nodded his silent approval at her before he reached down and quickly pulled her underwear off of her legs. There was less ceremony when he took off her underwear, in part because he wasn't sure how much more of this Collins could take and in part because he was sure that he wasn't going to able to last very long if he continued to tease her the way he had been. He hummed approvingly once she was naked and stretched out in front of him. "You're sure?" he asked her as he ran his hands over the smooth skin on her thigh. "You're sure you want to do this?" he pressed when she didn't answer. Normally he wouldn't have given a damn, but Collins wasn't normal, she was special, and he didn't want to cross any of her boundaries. She nodded. "You're sure?" he pressed one final time, he needed to hear it from her.

"I'm sure," she said quietly as she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. "Of course I'm sure. I trust you, Daryl Dixon."

He nodded before he allowed his hands to travel to the inside of her thighs and gently push them apart. He wasn't sure why this was so hard for Collins. She had given him her virginity without a second thought, but this was hard for her, he had had to beg her for this. It didn't matter he decided as he settled himself between her legs and glanced at her face one more time, he was going to make this so good for her that she'd never question him again when he suggested something. "Nice view," he commented, his tone joking as he reached out his fingers to spread her so that he could get a better look. He glanced up at the brunette and smiled when he realized that the blush had spread from her cheeks down her neck. He wondered how far that blush went.

"Stop talking," she muttered, her hand tightening on the hair in her grasp as her brown eyes darted away from him, looking over his shoulder toward the kitchen. He brought his thumb up to circle her clit but she wouldn't look away from the refrigerator. She shivered alright, her body reacted to his touch, arching up toward his thumb, but she wouldn't look at him. Daryl couldn't allow that. He stared at her, his eyes locked on hers though she wasn't looking at him, and he lowered his face closer to her core. He spread her apart carefully with his fingers and he licked between her folds. A small squeak escaped her lips and her brown eyes snapped to his, her eyes were wide and surprised.

"Hey Sweetheart," Daryl said with a grin, pulling away from her just enough that she would be able to see his grin before he lowered his face again. Her hips shifted and he chuckled as he used the flat side of his tongue to lap at her clit again. She moaned, it wasn't the noise she made when she was embarrassed. Daryl grinned against her, she was enjoying this. He used his fingers to spread her a little more and he dipped his tongue into her body.

"Oh fuck!" he heard the small brunette curse. He chuckled. Collins had never been one to shy away from cursing, but the small brunette had a dirtier mouth than he had imagined when it came to having sex. "Daryl," she whined when he brought his finger up to her, circling around her clit, making tighter and tighter circles, but never quite touching it. Daryl glanced up at her, maintaining eye contact, but he wouldn't touch it, not yet. Not until she asked him to. "Daryl," she said, her tone more insistent this time. He shook his head and told her that he wanted her to tell him what she wanted. "Put your finger," she started, the blush spreading over her collarbones and across her chest. "Touch me. Please. I want to feel you. Inside me, around me, all over. _Please_?" The desperate note to her voice when she said the last word broke him. His tongue began to dip in and out of her body at a faster pace, one finger petted at her clit while he used the index finger and middle finger on the other hand with his tongue to part her, stretch her. She groaned when he pulled his hands away from her, but he smiled at her whispered, "Thank God," when she saw that he was pulling at his boxers, taking them off.

He entered her without preamble or warning. He had been ready since almost the moment she entered his apartment and if he knew anything about women he knew that she had already come once on his fingers and tongue. She was wet, willing, and ready. And Daryl wasn't going to make her wait any longer than necessary. He reached down and wrapped one of her tan legs around his hips for a better angle and rocked himself into the warm, wet heat that was Collins Davis. She didn't hesitate, he loved that about her. Some women didn't know how to have sex; they made it seem like a chore and they just lay there on the bed underneath him and let him do all the work. It wasn't horrible, it was still sex, but it was nothing like Collins who not only really enjoyed the sex, but she seemed to instinctively know how to move her hips and she had no problem with keeping up with any pace Daryl set. She also had complete control of her muscles which Daryl really enjoyed. She seemed to know the perfect time to tighten around him, to squeeze him, and sometimes when she was on top she did this crazy little move with her hips, like she was drawing an eight with him inside of her. The first time she had done it Daryl had asked her if she watched porn, that was the only way he could think that she knew how to do that move, the small girl had shrugged and told him that he'd never know.

Today Daryl kept it slow for as long as he could. But after twenty minutes and feeling Collins tighten around him twice, hearing her gasp his name and curse, watching her as she fell apart around him he couldn't take it slow anymore. He picked up his pace and though she was obviously tired and a bit worn out Collins' hips met his with every thrust before it was him who was shuddering and calling out her name as he slowly rode through his orgasm. Collins milked him for everything he had before she carefully and slowly unwrapped her leg from his hips, flinching slightly at the rush of blood to her feet. "You okay?" Daryl asked her softly as he pulled out of her and rolled off of her onto his side so that he could still watch her. She nodded and he reached out to brush some of her hair out of her dark brown eyes. "You're still the prettiest girl I've ever met," he told her quietly. The statement wasn't as random as it seemed, he had been telling this girl the same thing since she was six years old. It was kind of their thing.

She smiled at him before she turned her head to the side, burying her face in the pillow to hide her grin and giggling softly. "You're just saying that so I'll suck your dick," she joked softly.

"Nah," Daryl said, shaking his head. "If I was trying to get you to suck me off I'd say something about that pretty little mouth of yours. I'm talking about you as a whole. You're the prettiest girl I've ever met. And I mean that. I don't care what your daddy used to tell you or what the kids at school say. You are. Don't you forget it."

Collins smiled at him before she moved closer so that she could kiss him softly on the lips. "Thanks Dare," she said quietly. "That means a lot. Especially coming from you." She paused for a moment, watching him carefully. "What's going to happen to us when I leave for school in the fall?" she asked him, biting her lip nervously. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer to that question.

Daryl shrugged, "We'll call. And write. And visit. There's this new thing everyone's doing. It's email or something?" He shrugged, "We could try that. And then you'll come home for the summer and for holidays and nothing will change. You'll see. I'll be waiting for you." Collins lifted her eyebrows and at his statement and repeated the last bit _you'll be waiting for me?_ Daryl chuckled and shook his head, "Now this don't mean I'm your boyfriend or nothing," he warned.

Collins smiled at him, "Of course not," she said and Daryl was happy to note that there wasn't a note of sadness in her voice - she wasn't disappointed in him. "That's not who you are, Daryl Dixon."

* * *

Author's Note:  
So this chapter was basically all sex.  
But after fifteen years of friendship I think the two of them deserved it.  
And it gives them a good platform to build on in the next chapters.  
What did you guys think? I always get nervous about sex scenes. Still not sure if I write them very well.  
So I hope you guys liked it.  
Big thanks for stopping by and reading this chapter.  
But special thanks goes to: _CryDevil, DarriE, Kathie2808, Sefira123, The-Dark-Love-Writer, czmgrace, elzbieta777, heboosh, _and _julesjumper_ for adding this story to their **Favorites List**. And to: _Aestheticgirl, HipsterCoyote, Moonlight Calls, MsWolfGirl, Paper Grenade, Sefira123, TT24, The-Dark-Love-Writer, TheGreatWhite, VertigoDiva, ashleyPayne, cassie-snape, codeblueeyes987, czmgrace, leefjs, neverfargone, nightscare, purpleheart689, _and _walter-needz-luv-2_ for adding this story to their **Alerts List**.  
But of course the **BIGGEST** of special thanks goes to those who **REVIEWED** on the last chapter! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for your support:  
**Edy12345: **I'm so glad that you thought the last chapter was fabulous and I hope that you thought that this chapter was equally as fabulous as they took their relationship to a more adult level. Thank you so much for your review and I hope you have an amazing day!  
**Guest (1): **Hello dear! Thank you so much for taking the time to review! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story line so far and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**czmgrace: **Two reviews from you! Thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoyed not only the first chapter, but the second as well. (Even happier that this story is becoming addicting and that you're in love with both Collins and Daryl!) I'm trying to keep Daryl as close to the show as possible while giving an example of the man he could have been if he was given a chance to really care about someone. So it's really exciting when people enjoy my version of him. So here's a new chapter and a chance to keep Walking Dead Day lasting all day once again! (And don't worry! You definitely gave me enough air!) I hope to hear from you soon!  
**Leyshla Gisel: **I'm very happy that you enjoyed their interaction in the last chapter and I hope that you enjoyed it in this one too! They are definitely comfortable with each other, even while slightly shy about taking their relationship further. And while you didn't see the prom scene I'm thinking about taking back my rule about no flashbacks for the last few chapters. So there might be a flashback to a prom if you guys would be interested... Thank you so much for your review!  
**SilentReader13: **Hey!  
It should be your new line! It's such a friendly, nice way to start a review!  
I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope that you liked this one too (there was some nervous Daryl thrown in there which was fun to write). And I think it's adorable, just not as adorable as he was with a five year old. (Men who are good with kids are a weakness of mine. I'm pretty sure I knew I was going to marry my fiance the first time I saw him interact with my goddaughter. It was just like "BOOM! I'm marrying him.)  
**Aestheticgirl: **So I'm completely thrilled that you're enjoying Collins. I always get nervous when I write an OC (and if you've read any of my other stories that's the only way I go). So, it means a lot to know that people enjoy them. And it means even more that you weren't originally feeling the ten year age difference I've won you over. That was another worry of mine, but it worked with where I wanted to go with the story and I could only hope that I could write it without it coming out too creepy. Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you liked this chapter as well!  
**Frozen Megami: **They do grow up very fast don't they! I'm so glad that you're enjoying this story and that you think their interaction is "marvelous." That's a huge compliment! So thank you so much for your review and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**Randi123: **Perfect again? You're too kind! I can only hope that this chapter lives up to the rest and that you enjoy reading it! Thank you so much for your review, dear!  
**Shannon: **Ahh! You have no idea how much I LOVE long reviews like yours! I'm so glad that you love the story and that you have been checking back in to see if I've updated it! That's a huge compliment! And I can only hope that I didn't make you wait too long for this latest chapter.  
And I get what you mean! Slow and steady relationship building is my favorite thing. When it's fast it always feels forced and that is the one thing I don't want. So I'm glad that you think I've perfected it! (I'm still not sure, but it's nice to see that people think so!) And I'm equally glad that Collins is a believable character! (That's like the holy grail of compliments for OCs, so thank you!)  
And I've worked the romance into the story in the form of a drunk birthday present. But they've still got some growing to do (you'll see it in later chapters!) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you enjoyed the first two. And as far as the Walking Dead plot, it's coming. I'm really excited about it. I started the first chapter with a Walker in it the other day and I'm thrilled with how it's coming along. I can't wait for you guys to read it!  
You're welcome for sharing! But THANK YOU for reviewing!  
**Big Fan: **Hello to you too!  
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! They make me really happy! And I'm thrilled that you think I have a great premise for the story. There's tons of Walking Dead stories on this site (and I feel like most of them are Daryl stories) so I wanted to make it very different from the others. The easiest way for me to do it was to start the story twenty years before the Walkers and to build the relationship from there.  
I'm sorry if there seems to be a disconnect from the little five-year-old to the sixteen-year-old. The way I figured it was that during ten years in an abusive home there wasn't a lot that was going to stay the same. Daryl was going to stay the same and as you saw at the end of the last chapter and hopefully throughout this chapter Collins stayed relatively hopeful and happy throughout it all which definitely traces back to the little girl that used to play don't touch the ground on the playground with her best friend.  
Thank you so much for your review! And I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as the other two. I would love to hear from you soon!  
And that's all I've got for now. You guys are **AMAZING!**  
Until next time, happy reading!  
Hugs and kisses,  
Chloe Jane.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any recognizable characters. I wish I did though, me and Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus would have some fun if I did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sunday Funday!  
But today's the last Walking Dead episode until October!  
What are we supposed to do!  
I can't handle this!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just a reminder:  
1. I'm playing around with Daryl's age a bit in this. In the show Daryl's in his early to mid 40s when the zombie apocalypse happens. In this story he's going to be thirty-six.  
2. There will be ten chapters in this story. (No more, no less.) But they will be long chapters, ten pages each. So by the time this story is done you guys will have read one hundred pages about Daryl and Collins.  
3. Each chapter is going to be about a different age. The characters are going to be getting older with each chapter, there will be no flashbacks, but there is really no rhyme or reason as to how much time has passed between each chapter.  
4. This story is going to have its good and happy moments. But it is not going to be a particularly happy story.  
5. There will be mentions and descriptions of **domestic violence**. If that is a **trigger** for you (**then you're probably not a fan of Daryl Dixon and probably aren't reading this story**) but here's the warning just in case.  
6. Reviews are like air. I love them.

And if anyone's still reading this ... here's the fourth chapter:

* * *

"Standing in the sunlight laughing. Hiding behind a rainbow's wall, Slipping and a sliding all along the water fall, with you, My brown eyed girl. You my brown eyed girl." Daryl couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when he walked into his apartment and heard the girl singing. He was surprised, the last time he had talked to her she had told him that she didn't plan on coming home until after graduation, her exam schedule and workload were too heavy for her to leave the college to come home and see him. But there she was, his pretty little brown eyed girl dancing around his rarely used kitchen, her brown hair was down to her mid back now, the purple streaks had long grown out and were replaced with more grown up highlights and lowlights. She had had to give up her apartment when she left the town to go to school at the University of Georgia so Daryl had made a copy of his key so that she wouldn't have to go to her parents' house when she came home for breaks, she would crash at his place. He could see the four year old key sitting on the counter that separated his kitchen from the rest of his apartment. She was making something, he couldn't be sure what it was yet, but it smelled like a pie. She hadn't seen him yet so he leaned against the wall and took a moment to just study her.

She was skinny, too skinny, he didn't like that. He knew that she was stressed over her finals and graduation and she didn't eat when she was stressed. But it was good news that she was here baking, she couldn't resist eating sweets. And he would have all weekend to feed her as much as he could. She had gotten more comfortable with her scars since she went to college. In high school for the most part she had stuck to long sleeves and pants. But it was hot in Georgia, even in the spring and now she was standing in his kitchen, barefooted, in a pair of jean shorts and a black tank top. He could see the tan lines of a string bikini on her neck and the tiny strip of tan skin above her shorts which told him that fairly recently she had been out in the sun in nothing but a bikini. He wondered if it had been with that Hunter guy that she had told him about last month. He tried to quiet the jealous feeling that rose in the pit of his stomach when he thought about Collins with another guy.

He knew there were boys at school that liked his friend. He knew that she went on dates with some of them. And that she may have kissed a few. But they were never very important to her, and they never lasted long enough for her to feel like she had to tell him about them. She would come home and for the time she was in town she and Daryl acted like nothing had changed, just as he had promised her. They still slept together, and kissed, with the understanding that they didn't sleep with other people when they were apart. Daryl had stuck to his word, he didn't sleep with anyone else when Collins was gone, didn't really want to, and he trusted Collins when she told him that she did the same thing. But she had told him about Hunter. She had told him that things were getting kind of serious and Daryl had worried. But, he thought as he watched the tiny brunette dance and sing around his kitchen, he didn't need to be too worried. She was here after all, spending the night at his apartment. That had to mean something, right?

She spun on her heel and caught sight of him. "Oh," she gasped, placing her hand on her heart. "You scared me there. Hi!" She rushed forward and launched herself into his outstretched arms, it had been years since she had worried that Daryl wouldn't catch her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist and dropped her forehead onto his shoulder, inhaling his scent for a moment before she lifted her head and pressed a gentle kiss onto his lips. "I've missed you," she breathed when they finally pulled away from each other.

"Missed you too," Daryl admitted. "And I scared you?" he chuckled. "That's strange considering that you were the one who broke into my apartment."

"Is it really considered breaking in when I have a key?" Collins asked him quietly as she pulled away from him and moved back toward the kitchen. "I don't think so." Daryl shrugged and followed her into the kitchen before he asked her what she was doing in town. Collins shrugged with a practiced nonchalance, "I think I'm going to quit," she said quietly.

"What?" Daryl growled, moving closer to her. "You're jokin' right?"

"I mean," Collins said with a sigh, "I'm not cut out for it. I'm stressed and I'm sure that I'm going to fail all of my finals. Is it even worth going back just to be told that I can't graduate? That I'm too stupid?"

"You're only too stupid to graduate if you actually think that I'm gonna let you hide out here for the rest of the year and not go back to school," Daryl told her, his face and voice stern. Collins stared at him for a moment, silently pleading with him to change his mind, but he didn't. If anything his look got harder and sterner. She sighed and nodded silently, she knew that he was right. He nodded, "Now," he said, moving over to the couch and patting the spot next to him. "Why don't you come over here and tell me what's got you so stressed and worried and goin' absolutely crazy?"

The twenty-two year old looked as though she was going to stay in the kitchen for almost a minute before she sighed and followed him to the couch. She sat down next to him and allowed him to wrap his arm around her shoulders and forcibly lean her head against his shoulder. "Don't you think that I'm a bit too old for this?" she asked him. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Dare. A hug from you and a chance to tell you all my problems isn't going to fix anything anymore."

"Believe me," Daryl said with a nod. "I know you're not a little girl anymore. And to be honest I never really thought that a hug would solve everything. Remember? I knew what your problems were. But they seemed to help a little. So why don't you try again? Tell me what's going on? Last time we talked you were stressed, but excited to graduate. What's changed in the last three days?"

"I just don't see the point," Collins said with a shrug. "These tests and papers won't do me any good once I graduate. And do I really want to be a teacher?" she asked him, before she shook her head. "Do I really want to spend all day every day with kids for the rest of my life? And it's too late to change my degree now, I've almost got it. I just," she paused, "I don't need a degree. Lots of people get by just fine without diplomas. You're doing just fine. I could be fine too. I don't need this stress or this shit." She paused for a moment, but before Daryl could say anything to her she was talking again. "And all my friends at school, none of them have jobs lined up, but they're not worried, they'll just go back and live with Mommy and Daddy and I don't have that luxury. And Hunter is no help at all," Daryl growled quietly at the name, but Collins chose to ignore it. "His answer to all these worries is _don't worry babe, you'll live with me. I'll take care of you_. He's acting like we're serious even though we haven't even slept together. I think he thinks I'm one of those girls who won't have sex until I'm married. Hah!" she laughed at herself at that, Daryl chuckled too. Hunter was in for a surprise when he met Daryl. "He keeps hinting that he's going to ask me an important question on graduation day and I swear to God I'm going to scream if he asks me to marry him. How do you tell someone that you're really flattered, but that the thought of marrying them makes you want to stick your head in the oven?"

Daryl couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips at her last question before he addressed all that she had told him. "First of all the tests and papers will do you good because they will help you graduate. Secondly, of course you want to be a teacher, you've wanted to do that since you were little, you've never changed your mind or wavered before now. You're just stressed, your feelings will change. Third," he paused for a moment. "Sure people get by without college degrees, yes I am proof of that, but you're too smart for that life. Too smart and driven. You need to get out of this town and the only way you're going to do that is to get your degree. As for Hunter, let me talk to him. I'll set him straight, real fast."

Collins smiled up at him for a moment before she snuggled closer to him. "You're smart too, you know?" she asked him. "Just because I went to college and you didn't doesn't mean that I'm smarter than you. And when I leave I'm taking you with me. It's you and me against the world, remember?" Daryl nodded, he did remember, that's the way it had been for almost twenty years. Collins sighed and buried her face in his chest, "There's one more thing," she said quietly. Daryl made a noise in his throat, asking her what else was up without saying anything. "I have these tickets for graduation. Everyone else is giving them to their parents, but," she lifted her face off his chest just enough to make a face at him and shrugged.

Daryl nodded, he knew what she was asking him. "I'll go," he told her with a smile. "Of course I'll go. I wouldn't miss your graduation, pretty girl."

She nodded with a smile, "There's two so you can bring Merle if you want. I don't mind. You might want someone there with you. It'll probably be long and boring. I'm saying that and it's my own graduation. I might take a nap, who knows?" They were quiet for a moment before Collins glanced up at him, a dark, lustful look in her eyes, "Can we fuck now?" she asked. Daryl chuckled and nodded. Collins' smile became a grin. "And once we're done there'll be pie."

"That's the only reason I keep you around," Daryl joked as he followed the brunette toward his bed. "The pie and the sex." The smile the small brunette sent him was dazzling.

She kept her promise to him, the pie was done by the time they were done, though she did make Daryl wait for it to cool down before he could eat it. Daryl pouted for the thirty minutes she made him wait. She giggled and pressed her lips against his cheek, "Don't be such a baby," she grinned at him. She turned away from him and Daryl stuck his tongue out at her back before he stuck his finger in the pie just so that he could get a taste. He hissed as he pulled his finger out of the pie, it was hot. Collins giggled at him, "I don't even feel sorry for you," she told him when she turned around again. "I told you that it was hot and that you needed to wait. This is your own fault." Though, while she was proclaiming that she felt no sympathy for him she handed him a paper towel that was soaked in cold water. "Here you go, baby." Once she was sure that the pie was cool she cut them each a piece (Daryl's was enough to feed three people while Collins' piece was small, tiny even) and poured them both a glass of milk. Daryl grabbed the plates and the forks and led the way to the couch, Collins' carried the milk and seated herself daintily next to Daryl on the couch, one leg tucked underneath the other. "So what have you been up to?" she asked him quietly once she had taken her first bite.

Daryl chuckled and shook his head, "You don't want to talk about that," he told her as he wolfed down the pie. Honestly he ate better when Collins stayed at his apartment. "I haven't done anything interesting. I've been going to work, coming home, watchin' tv, and making sure that Merle don't do nothing stupid. He can't get in trouble when he's on probation." Collins nodded, she knew Merle better than she often wanted to admit and she could imagine that Daryl had his hands full with keeping his older brother out of trouble. Daryl took another bite of pie before he nodded to the brunette sitting next to him. "What about you, pretty girl?" she shrugged quietly, as if to say that she had already told Daryl everything that was up with her. He shook his head, "Nah," he told her around another bite of pie. "You complained at me. You never told me what's up. Tell me about this Hunter bitch. Last time you brought him up you said it was getting kind of serious and now you're sayin' that the thought of getting anymore serious with him makes you want to kill yourself. Forgive me, but my head's spinnin' a bit."

Collins smiled at him for a moment before she sighed. "I don't know," she said with a shrug. "At first I thought that he was someone that I could get serious about, you know?" Daryl shook his head, he didn't know that feeling. And he was sure that the only girl he could ever feel like that about was sitting right next to him, but he didn't tell her that. She giggled at him, "What am I saying? Of course you don't know. You and me have this arrangement just so that you can have an excuse to keep other women at bay. I guess what I'm trying to say is that he was the kind of guy that could have worked out, should have worked out. He's smart, funny, he takes care of me but he also knows when to step back and let me take care of myself, and he's ridiculously good looking. He kind of reminds me of you to be honest," she told him softly. "I think that's why I was drawn to him at first, honestly. And all my friends say that he clearly worships me," she gave a rye twist of her lips, "that should be enough to make me love him right?" Daryl swallowed in surprise at the word _love_. He had never heard Collins use that word to talk about anyone besides him. He didn't like it being used in reference to this Hunter guy. Collins reached out and patted his hand as if she understood what was going through his head. "But in the end he got kind of annoying. Like he's making all these plans and not even stopping to see if I'm interested in them. It's a stupid thing to complain about, right? I'm actually complaining about a boy who wants to commit to me. That's not something that usually happens."

"I mean," Daryl said with a shrug. "If it ain't right. It ain't right. What are you gonna do about it? You can't force something that ain't working." Collins nodded as if he had said something that was extremely profound or something. He nodded, hoping that she was listening to what he had to say and not just letting it go over her head. "So what are you going to tell him when you go back to school?" He caught the look the younger girl was giving him and he gave her a pointed look, "And you are goin' back to school. Don't even try to argue that point. I will drive you there myself if I have to."

Collins sighed for a moment, but then she nodded. "I know I'm going back to school," she told him quietly. "It was ridiculous to think that you would let me run away this close to graduation when you wouldn't even let me run away when I was home sick freshmen year." She leaned forward for a moment so that she could place her now empty plate on the table in front of them, when she leaned back she rested her head against Daryl's shoulder. "As for what I'm going to tell Hunter I have no idea. I didn't know that we were this serious, we've only been going on dates for about a month, but he told Kevin that he loved me. Kevin's his roommate and I don't know why he would lie to him. He hasn't told me yet and I hope to God that he doesn't. I don't know how I would handle that. Would it be a bitch move to just completely avoid him when I get back to school?" she asked him, a quiet hopeful look on her face when she turned to look at Daryl.

"Yeah," he said with a slow nod. "I'm pretty sure that would be a bitchy thing to do. Why don't you try to be honest? Sort of," he amended when he caught the look on Collins' face. "Tell him that your life is pretty crazy at the moment and that you think that the two of you are getting too serious too fast. That the weeks before graduation are not the best time to start a serious relationship and that you guys should take a break for a while. Then after graduation you stop talkin' to him." Collins grinned up at him and shook her head, her bangs landed in her eyes and Daryl reached out to brush the hair out of her eyes. "And if that don't work you can always introduce him to me. He'll understand real fast."

Collins laughed at him before she surged forward so that she could press a kiss onto his lips. "Look at you! This is why I keep you around. Because you're the smart one!"

Daryl shrugged, "Now this Kevin kid. This wouldn't happen to be Kevin Light would it?" he asked, his tone teasing although he knew the answer. He chuckled when Collins nodded quietly. "You just can't get that kid to leave you alone can you?" Collins laughed and told him to be nice, she told him that she and Kevin Light were finally friends and that she was sure that he was finally over his crush on her. Daryl chuckled, that boy would never be over his crush on Collins Davis, but he didn't tell her that. "Just as long as I'm a better friend than him," he pouted playfully.

Collins laughed and pressed another kiss on his cheek, "The best," she whispered when she pulled away.

-.-.-.-.-

Merle spent most of Collins' graduation day complaining about everything from the heat to the amount of people to the "stuffy college" atmosphere. But Daryl put up with his older brother's complaints because despite everything Merle said Daryl knew that he was happy to be out of his apartment and out of town. And though the older Dixon would never say it out loud Daryl knew that he had a soft spot for Collins. Merle hadn't been around much when Daryl and Collins started their friendship, but Daryl had told his brother about the kid he was hanging out with when Merle got out of prison. And once Merle had gotten over his initial response of making fun of his younger brother for hanging out with an elementary school girl and calling him a pedophile he had on occasion hung out with the two of them. Collins had never warmed up to Merle the way she had to Daryl, but she never objected to his presence either. And as far as Daryl was concerned, that was the best Merle would ever get from anyone.

"So when's our chickadee strutting 'cross the stage?" Merle asked as the ceremony started. The graduates had just marched into the auditorium and Merle was already bored. He knew that his younger brother wasn't going to leave until after Collins had walked across the damn stage and gotten the fake diploma. Daryl glared at him and shook his head, Merle wondered if it would be rude to stand up and go outside to smoke a cigarette. Merle wasn't one to normally care about being rude, but he did care about his baby brother and for some reason Daryl cared about this little girl. The younger Dixon would kill Merle if he did anything to ruin this day for the brunette. Merle sighed and silently hoped that at the very least his younger brother was getting his dick sucked out of this arrangement. "Well where is she?" he growled, glancing down at the sea of black graduation gowns and black caps with red tassels. "If I'm gonna watch this thing I might as well know what I'm watchin' for."

Daryl glanced around at the rows of graduates in front of them. She was pretty easy to find if only because Daryl had stayed up with her late the night before so that she could finish decorating the top of her cap. He knew what he was looking for. He elbowed his brother and pointed to a brunette girl in the fourth row on their side of the auditorium. Her cap was covered withe hundreds of plastic silver jewels. Red jewels spelled out the words _Are you sure you want me teaching your kids?_ And there was an apple with a green leaf on it. Merle chuckled when he read what was inscribed on the brunette's cap. The girl was definitely a spitfire and would give any school that hired her the tiniest bit of hell. He nodded toward the boys who were sitting on either side of the brunette and fighting for her attention during the speeches. He asked Daryl what their stories were. Daryl shrugged and tried to act as if he was unaffected by the three in front of them. "If I had to guess I'd say that the tall one on her right is Kevin Light from back home, she says they're friends now. And the one on her left that looks like he's tryin' to smell her hair would be Hunter somethin' or other. She broke up with him last week, doesn't look like he took the hint too good."

Merle chuckled and shook his head. "Well can you blame the boy? I bet a girl like that would be hard to get over. Just look at her body." He watched the way his younger brother's hand clenched into a fist. "Ah," Merle said, drawing out the word as he nodded and allowed his tongue to flick out and lick his lower lip. "I see that you already have seen her body. You done with it? I'm not one to take anyone's rejects, but prison was a bit lonely and I haven't seen nothin' like her since before I went in. I would be willin' to spend a night in her company, even with her expensive degree."

"You just don't know when to shut up do you?" Daryl growled as he glanced away from the girl and her two friends so that he could glare at his older brother. "You can't fuckin' touch her," he hissed, hoping not to disturb any of the people around them. "I wouldn't let it even if she was willing. Which she ain't. And if you know what's good for you, you won't talk to her about this. She'll punch you faster than you can get the words out. Don't think she won't. And don't for a minute think that I will even try to stop her. You'd deserve it."

"Jesus, Baby Brother," Merle said after a moment of studying his younger brother. "What has this girl done to you since the last time I went to jail. She's got you wrapped around her finger, playin' the role of prince charming and the like. Tell me," he paused for a moment. "Has she trained you to put the seat down after you piss yet?" Daryl growled but that was the only response his older brother got. He knew that Merle was trying to bait him, to get him to yell or fight, to get the two of them kicked out so that he wouldn't have to watch the ceremony. But this was important to Daryl and he wasn't about to let Merle mess it up. This was a big day for Collins and Daryl was practically the only family that she had. He wasn't going to miss this.

The ceremony took about an hour and a half before they were done with the speeches and had called all the names. Daryl had been right about the boys on either side of Collins they were Kevin and Hunter. What surprised him the most was that when Collins' name was called he and Merle weren't the only ones to cheer for the brunette. Collins grinned at the crowd and pumped her fist in the air before she moved forward to get her degree from the Dean of Students. Instead of the classic hand shake and smile for the picture Collins had accepted her degree threw both of her hands up in the air for the picture before she surged forward and wrapped both of her arms around the Dean. The man didn't look surprised, he hugged her back with a familiarity that made Daryl think that he knew Collins better than most of the other students. Once all the names were called the Dean congratulated the students and introduced the audience to the class of 2006. A cheer rose out of the crowd of graduates and each of them took off their cap so that they could throw it into the air. Then without further adieu the graduates began to march out of the auditorium.

Daryl and Merle quickly joined the audience as they left the auditorium. It was only after they had gotten outside that Daryl realized that he had no idea where to find Collins now that the ceremony was over. Merle must have noticed the look of panic on his younger brother's face because he clapped his hand on Daryl's shoulder. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, _Darlina, _your girl told me to meet her by the East entrance this morning. She knew it was going to be chaos. Move that way," he nodded his chin toward the correct direction before he began to lead the way. The two brothers made their way around the building to the East entrance and where they saw a large group of black robed graduates taking pictures and happily talking about the fact that they were no longer college students.

Daryl couldn't see Collins anywhere. He was about to suggest that Merle had gotten the wrong entrance when a small brunette broke out of the crowd and rushed toward them. "Daryl! Merle!" Collins called excitedly as she ran to the two Dixon brothers with her arms outstretched. "Can you believe it? I'm a fucking graduate!" Daryl chuckled and moved in front of Merle so that he could catch his small friend in his arms and twirl her around in a circle. Collins giggled happily and threw her head back so that her long, hair flew behind her in big, loose curls. "I can't believe I almost missed this!" she admitted once Daryl had set her down on the ground.

Daryl chuckled and shook his head, lowering his lips down to her forehead so that he could kiss her. "I wouldn't have let you miss this," he reminded her as he finally let go of her.

Collins smiled at him before she turned to Merle, her arms outstretched slightly at her sides. "What do you say, Merle Dixon?" she asked him. "Do I get a hug from you too?" Daryl turned to his brother and shot the older man a warning look as Merle moved closer to the young brunette. "And no funny business!" Collins warned as he approached her, as if she could read both of the brothers' minds. "I'm not into that."

"That's because you're into my brother," Merle chuckled as he hugged the younger girl. "Or at least he gets into you on a regular basis." Daryl groaned at his brother's pervertedness and he was surprised when Collins actually laughed at the older Dixon. "But," Merle continued, "if you ever want to know what a real man feels like you let me know." Daryl reached forward and grabbed the collar of his brother's shirt so that he could pull him away from the small brunette. "Hey!" Merle called out. "Relax baby brother, she knows I'm kidding. Don't you, Sweetheart?"

Collins sighed. She wasn't entirely sure, but she also knew what Merle was like. She knew that he probably was joking, at least a little bit. She wasn't going to pick a fight with him, not today at least. She smiled at the two brothers, "Come on," she said, gesturing over her shoulder to the group of graduates behind her. They were still taking pictures and talking excitedly, but parents and family members had joined the group now. "Come meet my friends." She reached out and grabbed Daryl's hand, he wasn't surprised when she interlaced their fingers. "They've all heard about you and have been waiting to meet you for years." Daryl wondered what the boys in the group thought of him as Collins pulled him over to the kids. They smiled at the brunette but both Hunter and Kevin's eyes hardened when their eyes met his. He looked at the other boys in the group, he was sure that he didn't have any friends when it came to this group. But when he glanced down at the happy smile on Collins' face he didn't mind, Merle was right, she did have him wrapped around her finger. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for this girl.

"Well look who's finally here," the taller of the two men called out while Collins pulled Daryl and Merle closer to the group. He turned to the rest of the group and grinned, "I've been hearing about this guy since kindergarten. Guys this is Daryl Dixon, I'm confused about how our little Collins knows him. I used to think they were cousins. But unless they're from a really close, incest-y family then he can't be because I definitely saw them making out at a bar on New Year's Eve this year."

Daryl smiled as Collins blushed and pushed against the boy, knocking off his balance for a moment. "Shut up, Kevin Light," she warned him playfully. "Let's not forget that I have more than enough shit on you. You don't want to make me your enemy." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Relax Col," Kevin said, throwing his arm around her short shoulders, "I'm just playing. Dixon knows that right?" Daryl nodded quietly. He wasn't sure that Kevin was just playing, but he wasn't going to call the kid out on it. The last thing he needed was for Kevin to start talking about what else he knew about the Dixons. Their town was small and he was sure that Kevin could very easily tell the group enough that they would worry about Collins hanging out with him.

Collins smiled at her friends and shook her head before she grinned at Daryl. "Well don't be shy guys, introduce yourselves. Daryl's heard about everything there is to know about you and I'm sure that he's excited to finally put some faces to the names."

"So excited," Daryl stonewalled with a blank face and a sarcastic tone which made all the college graduates laugh happily. The subtle wink Collins sent him was enough to tell him that he was doing just fine with her friends.

-.-.-.-.-

"So what do you think?" Collins asked him. She was standing in the middle of the sunny living room. There was no furniture in the room yet, probably wouldn't be for a while on Collins' budget, but the windows were nice and Daryl already knew how much the brunette loved the wood floors in the apartment. It was small, maybe the size of his, but it wasn't a studio. It was a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with a good sized living room and a small kitchen. Collins had said that she didn't mind the size of the kitchen, besides baking she wasn't one to use a kitchen all that much. She spun around in the sunny room and grinned at him, "It's good right?" she asked him quietly. "It'll work for me, right?"

Daryl nodded, "It'll do, Pretty girl, this apartment will do just fine for you." Collins squealed excitedly and started spinning around the living room again. Daryl chuckled at her and shook his head. "You're sure excited about this place, little girl," he said quietly. "You sure it ain't because you don't wanna live with me anymore?" Collins stopped her dancing turned around so that she could study Daryl. He didn't look sad or worried, and he had spent most of the summer after her graduation complaining about her living with him, but it was clear that it was all a front, that he was actually going to miss her once she moved out. "I don't care either way," he told her, though he sure looked like he did care. "I'm just thinking about money. And how you need to save up."

Collins shook her head at the older man and moved closer to him. She stood on her tiptoes so that she could hold his face in her hands and she gave him a brief kiss on the lips, "You're sweet, Dare," she told him quietly. "So sweet. But let's be honest here, you're thirty-two years old. We're friends," Daryl scoffed at that, he'd say that they were something a little more than friends. She smiled at him and nodded, she knew what he was thinking. "And more," she conceded, "but come on, you don't really want to live with me. You and I both know it. We're better off when we're not right on top of each other."

Daryl chuckled at that. "I think we're just fine when we're on top of each other," he told her.

Collins laughed and shook her head, "You're just as bad as your brother sometimes," she told him, trying to sound stern, but the smile that would not leave her lips ruined that. She shook her head and went back to the matter at hand. "We're in the same town. Living on the same street. It's not like when I went away to school. I'm probably going to be over at your apartment more than ever, just at the end of the day I'll come back to mine. Give you back your closet and your bathroom. You'll get to leave the seat up again, that'll be nice right?"

Daryl chuckled, it sounded as though she was trying to convince a young child that everything was going to be okay. "I'm gonna miss your pies," he admitted quietly. Collins grinned at him and nodded before she promised him that she would still make him pie whenever he wanted. Daryl nodded, "You better," he told her with a grin. "That's what I keep you around for after all. The pie and the -"

"The pie and the sex," Collins said, cutting him off with a grin. "Just like the only reason I keep you around is so that you can carry my stuff for me and give me orgasms." Daryl shrugged and shot her a look that clearly said he didn't think any of the other boys she hung out with could do what he could do. "Oh come on," she laughed, correctly understanding the look on his face. "I'm sure that Kevin Light could do quite nicely if he," she stopped herself and shook her head. "Never mind," she said, catching the grin on Daryl's face. "He probably couldn't."

"You're damn right," Daryl said with a nod as he moved closer to the small brunette. She backed away from him, but he kept approaching her until he had her trapped between the wall and his body. "He couldn't do you like I do," he told her before he lowered his face to hers and claimed her lips in a bruising kiss. "He ain't man enough. He don't know what makes you shiver," he continued when he finally broke away from her. As if to prove his point he dropped his mouth to her neck and licked and bit his way from her ear down to her collar bone. Collins didn't want to prove him right, but there was no way she could stop her body from responding to the older man's touch. She shivered and gasped out his name as she wrapped her arms around him to pull him closer to her. He grinned against the side of her neck before he bit down, just too hard on her collarbone. Her answering gasp was a mix of pleasure and pain that drove Daryl crazy. "He wouldn't know what to do with a woman like you," Daryl whispered. "He'd be too much of a little bitch to do you rough like you like." He paused for a moment, "I should do you right now, up against this wall. A welcome home gift."

"I don't have any curtains," Collins protested as Daryl knelt down in front of her, pushing her shirt up gently and kissing, licking, and nipping at every bit of skin that was revealed as her shirt was pushed further up her flat stomach. "The neighbors could see," she gasped out as he dipped his tongue into her belly button for just a moment before he moved further up to lick at the skin just below her bra that he knew was particularly sensitive.

"So?" Daryl asked her quietly as he gently nudged her arms above her head so that he could pull her shirt over her head. "We'll give 'em a show," he told her as he reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. "It'll probably be better than their own sex lives," he added when he finally got the bra off and watched as her breasts tumbled out of the undergarment before he dropped it down to the hardwood floors that Collins loved so much.

Collins laughed nervously at him as her hands, despite her verbal protests, traveled underneath his shirt and began to push the thin fabric up his chest. "You are far too confident," she told him as she pushed the shirt over his head. She stood up on her tiptoes so that she could press a kiss on his lips. "And perverted." She kissed him again. "And sexy," she added softly, her hands dropping down to the waistband of his pants so that she could unzip them. "It's just not fair."

"Only with you, Honey," Daryl said with a chuckle as he reached down between them to help the small brunette shimmy out of her short jean shorts. "Only with you."

She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She wrapped a leg around his waist and Daryl bit back a moan when he realized that his jeans and her thin underwear was the only thing separating the two of them. She leaned back, her shoulders resting against the wall, balancing on the tip toes of her left leg and studied the older man for a moment. "This has been going on for what?" she asked. "Like four years? Am I your longest relationship Daryl, Dixon?"

Daryl growled playfully. They both knew that she was practically his longest relationship. But neither of them liked using the words _relationship_, _boyfriend_, or _girlfriend_. Or at least Daryl didn't like using the words, he briefly wondered if Collins wanted to use those words. He wasn't sure if he would be able to do that for her. He was about to ask her if that's what she wanted, but she was there in his arms, distracting, and all warm and playful. He wasn't going to miss this opportunity. "Now you know I don't like that talk," he growled playfully at the brunette in his arms. "How should I punish you for that?" he joked.

"Hmm," Collins said softly, her brown eyes wide and playfully innocent. "I can think of a few ways," she tightened her arms around his shoulders and wrapped her other leg around his waist with a shriek.

"This only works when your underwear and my pants are gone, Honey," Daryl told her as he gently unwrapped her legs from around his waist so that she could drop down to the floor. His pants and her underwear joined their shirts on the floor in record time and within seconds her legs were wrapped around his waist again and his fingers were deep inside her, stroking her. He groaned when he realized how wet she was already. It seemed almost unfair that she could be ready to go so quickly. But at the same time, Daryl couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at the fact that he could make the small brunette feel like this. That she was responding to him in this way. "You ready?" he asked her, panting. She nodded and pressed her hands against his shoulders, pushing herself up slightly so that she could lower herself down onto him. He groaned happily when he was fully inside her. "That's it," he breathed as she leaned back, shoulders and head against the wall behind her to give him a better angle.

"Daryl!" she gasped as he put one hand under her back, his fingernails scraping against the smooth skin on top of her spine as he pulled out of her and pushed back in at a faster pace. Her hips bucked up to meet his with each thrust. They finished after a half hour or so, but instead of getting dressed the two friends simply dropped down onto the wood floor. Daryl sat with his back against the wall and his arm wrapped around Collins as she leaned against his chest. "Yeah," she said with a slow nod. "Next time we do this here I'm going to need a bed. I think you bruised my shoulders against the wall there." Daryl apologized quietly and brought his hands up to massage the sore shoulders in question. Collins sighed at his touch and leaned closer to him for a moment. "And curtains," she said softly, almost sleepily. "We're going to need curtains too."

"Anything you want, Pretty girl," Daryl whispered quietly as he pressed a kiss on the side of her head. "Anything you want."

* * *

Author's Note:  
Hey guys! How are you?  
Gearing up for tonight's episode of Walking Dead? Me too.  
So, to help you guys out I've decided to post a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it!  
Thank you for stopping by to read! Special thanks goes to: _AngelOfDarkness Michelle, Bleeeep, BohemianChic, CaptainAmericanna, EdibethKain, Millenia-the-wings-of-valmar, SUPERNATURAL QUEEN 4 LIFE, The Girl That Never Was, VampireGleek, elzbieta777, emogirl14, mellbell12123, _and _qlara _who added this story to their **Favorites List**.  
And to: _ArandoraStar, CaptainAmericanna, Freckles the Wanderer, Helleni, InTheWrongEra, Origami88, SUPERNATURAL QUEEN 4 LIFE, VampireGleek, isopt, Callalily8, Marizhka18, mellbell12123, odalysgarcia, qlara, Bleeeep, _and _AngelOfDarkness Michelle_ who added this story to their **Alerts List**_.  
_But as always the **BIGGEST** of special thanks goes to those of you who **REVIEWED** the last chapter:  
**CaptainAmericanna:** Hello dear! I'm so glad that you're enjoying this story and AWASG as well! (And we're tumblr friends right? I'm pretty sure I recognize the name!) Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm really glad you think I'm a "brilliant writer" it's always good to hear! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**julesjumper: **I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one as well. And I'm glad that you think the sex scenes were well written. I get so worried about those, but they're fun to write. :D And don't tell me that I almost made you cry! That's just going to make me try again! Thank you so much for your review, my dear!  
**Frozen Megami: **I would too. But Collins knows. If she stakes a claim on the man he runs in the opposite direction. But I've also written the next chapter and I know what happens. She's going to stake a claim on him (maybe it will even be successful). And I'm happy that you brought up the fact that she was originally against receiving oral sex! No one else caught onto that. I was using it to show that even though Collins likes to believe that she's okay, there are scars (that can't be seen) that are still around. Scars that Daryl might be able to heal. So I'm really glad that you picked up on that! And I'm glad that it made you love her more!  
**Leyshla Gisel: **Neither can I, it seems. There was more of it in this chapter. I'm glad that you enjoyed it and I really hope that you liked this chapter as well!  
**Dhalia89: **It was hot? That's good! Always nice to hear! I hope you didn't drool too much while you were waiting for this chapter! I hope that you enjoyed this one too. :D  
**Callalily8: **"Wow!" That makes me really happy! Your review made me so happy! And I'm so glad that you came over here after reading AWASG. They're both Daryl stories, but the relationships between Daryl and my two leading ladies are very different. And I am so glad you're not disappointed by the differences! As for a post ZA-world and this story ... yes, there are definitely going to be Walkers in this story. And very soon. I'm glad you think my writing is awesome and I hope you liked this chapter as well! *Though, maybe you should wait until after tonight's episode to read it! It might make tonight a little better.  
And that's all I've got for now! But you guys are all kinds of amazing!  
I'll see you back here soon.  
Until next time, happy reading!  
Hugs and kisses,  
Chloe Jane.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any recognizable characters. I wish I did though, me and Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus would have some fun if I did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Halfway through the story.  
What?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just a reminder:  
1. I'm playing around with Daryl's age a bit in this. In the show Daryl's in his early to mid 40s when the zombie apocalypse happens. In this story he's going to be thirty-six.  
2. There will be ten chapters in this story. (No more, no less.) But they will be long chapters, ten pages each. So by the time this story is done you guys will have read one hundred pages about Daryl and Collins.  
3. Each chapter is going to be about a different age. The characters are going to be getting older with each chapter, there will be no flashbacks, but there is really no rhyme or reason as to how much time has passed between each chapter.  
4. This story is going to have its good and happy moments. But it is not going to be a particularly happy story.  
5. There will be mentions and descriptions of **domestic violence**. If that is a **trigger** for you (**then you're probably not a fan of Daryl Dixon and probably aren't reading this story**) but here's the warning just in case.  
6. Reviews are like air. I love them.

And if anyone's still reading this ... here's the fourth chapter:

* * *

Ever since Daryl had stopped sleeping with random women and kicking them out the next morning he had gotten out of the habit of expecting angry women to show up at his apartment at two in the morning and wake him up. But it was becoming a fairly regular thing for him and Collins. This time it was half past two on a Wednesday morning when the pint-sized brunette showed up at his studio apartment angrily knocking on the door. He couldn't stop the sleepy smile that slipped across his lips when he opened the door to find a very tired and angry Collins with her right arm wrapped around Merle's waist and her left arm holding his arm around her shoulders. "This isn't funny," she growled, her glare deepening at the sight of the smile on the thirty-five year old's face when he took in the sight in front of him. "Not remotely funny." She pushed past her friend and wobbled her way into his apartment, staggering under the weight of his older brother. "I told you last week to take my number out of his phone. He needs to stop calling me. I have work in the morning and I can't keep picking his wasted ass up at bars after last call."

"You work with kindergartners," Daryl pointed out jokingly as he moved toward the small girl so that he could pull his brother away from her and dump his drunk ass on the bed. "Aside from story time I don't think you have much to worry about." He turned away from the brunette so that he could roll his brother onto his side just in case he threw up during the night. The last thing he wanted was for Merle to throw up and choke on his own vomit. Despite his joking tone he felt bad for the fact that Merle had woken Collins up again. His brother had started drinking heavily as of late and strangely enough his go to drunk dial was to Collins who understandably did not appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night to pick Merle up at a bar.

"Exactly," Collins said with a nod. "I teach kindergartners! Do you know how loud those little brats are in the morning? Or how much energy they have? Not the best thing to deal with when you haven't had a full night's sleep!" Daryl nodded, he remembered Collins when she was that age, she had been a little terror and he did feel bad about the fact that his brother had woken her up. The brunette crossed her arms over her chest and shifted from her left foot to her right and back to her left. She bit her lip and jerked her chin toward the man laying passed out on the bed. "Is he at least breathing?" she asked him softly. "He usually talks to me on the walk to your place. You know, silly stuff like trying to convince me to let him fuck me in an alley or something." She held her hands up defensively when Daryl growled at the back of his throat. "Merle's words not mine," she told him, her tone as defensive as her stance. "But he didn't talk tonight. Is he okay?"

Daryl turned back to stare at his brother. Merle took the moment to roll over onto his other side and burp. Daryl could smell the whiskey from where he stood. "Yeah," he said, turning back to the small brunette with a soft smile, she smiled back at him, "I think he's going to be fine." Collins nodded and scrubbed her hand over her tired face before she turned and walked toward the couch. She threw herself onto the soft leather and patted the spot next to her, looking at Daryl expectantly as he made his way over to her. "I really am sorry he called you," Daryl told her quietly as he sat down on the couch next to her. "I told him last week that he needed to stop doing that. He swore to me that he'd leave you alone. Guess he didn't."

"It's fine," Collins said with a shrug. "I managed to ignore his first few calls. Sent them to voicemail and all that. But then someone from the bar called, I didn't recognize the phone number so I picked up. Apparently he was getting wild and they needed me to come pick him up. I told them to call you, but the bartender said something about how Merle had told them to call his honey, that _his girl_ would come get him." She laughed and shook her head a few times before she allowed her forehead to come to a stop, resting against Daryl's shoulder. "I've been sleeping with you for seven years and I'm still not _your girl_, but one pity kiss on New Year's Eve and now I'm Merle Dixon's girl." She laughed and shook her head again, but she didn't lift it from Daryl's arm. "Lucky me, huh? At least one Dixon wants me."

Daryl growled low in his throat. He had known this conversation was coming. For the last seven years Collins had told him that she was okay with their arrangement. And aside from some minor confusion on how they should introduce each other to their friends (they had settled on _my friend_ after Collins had once introduced Daryl as _my ... Daryl. This is my, this is Daryl_) he had believed her. But she was going to be twenty-six at the end of the year, most girls she knew were getting married and thinking about kids and though Daryl had never asked her, he had seen her with the kids at work. She was great with them, fantastic even and even Daryl know that it would be a shame if Collins never got to be a mother. She was probably starting to get to the point where she wanted to think about marriage and kids and Daryl wondered if he was getting in the way of that. If maybe Collins had missed her chance with the guy she was going to marry because she was sleeping with him. Collins glanced up at him and patted his hand softly before she told him that she was joking. "I could never be Merle's girl," she said, thinking that was why Daryl was upset. "Even if he wanted me. Which I'm pretty sure he wouldn't if he was sober. Don't worry."

"That ain't what I'm worried about," Daryl said quietly. Collins hummed quietly and snuggled closer to him, shivering a bit. Daryl glanced down at her, she was wearing her pajama shirt, an old football jersey of his from his high school days that she had stolen when she stayed with him on one of her breaks her freshmen year of college. It was getting close to winter and he wondered where her coat was. He was touched that she was worried enough about his drunk brother that she had left her apartment to get him so quickly that she hadn't grabbed a coat. He lifted his arm so that she could slip underneath it and cuddle into his side before he reached for the blanket he kept on the back of the couch and covered the two of them with it. She was quiet, he knew that she was curious about what he was worried about, but he also knew that she wouldn't push him, she would patiently wait until he was ready to talk. That was one of the things he loved most about Collins, she was patient with him, which was something he needed.

"I think he got in a fight," she said softly a moment later, choosing to change the subject until Daryl was ready to talk about whatever was bothering him. "Merle. At the bar. I think he got in a fight. He's got a bruise forming on his jaw and his nose was bleeding. Though knowing your brother he could have been doing drugs in the bathroom and maybe that's why his nose was bleeding. I didn't bother to ask and I'm not sure if he was with it enough to answer if I had. Tomorrow morning you might want to ask him, just to see what's going on. See if he remembers it. You should really talk to him about doing drugs. He's on probation right now, and he's nowhere near as sneaky as he thinks he is. If the cops -"

"Do you wanna get married?" Daryl asked her, interrupting her in the middle of her sentence. What she said would have made sense to Daryl, but he couldn't focus on Merle right now. All he could think about was the fact that he might be holding Collins back from the life she was supposed to have. And while he had always run away from commitments he would never forgive himself if he kept her from something that she wanted just because he was selfish and scared. He glanced down at her and she was staring at him with wide, surprised brown eyes. "Yeah," he said with a nod, catching on to what surprised her. "You heard me right. Do you wanna get married?"

"Well I think it's a little soon considering the fact that we've never gone on a real date," Collins joked before her face became serious and she turned back to look at her friend. "I'm confused, Dare," she said softly. "You're Daryl _commitments scare me_ Dixon. Are you asking me if I want to marry you? Or are you asking me if I want to get married in general? Like one day in the future to a man who probably isn't you?" she paused. "What are you asking, Daryl?"

"The first one," Daryl said with a shrug. "The second one." Another shrug. "Both? I guess what I'm asking is what do you think we're doing here? Are you really happy just being," he sighed, he hated the phrasing he was about to use, it didn't describe him and Collins at all. "Are you really happy just being friends with benefits? Or are you hoping that one day this will turn into something else? A girl like you has to want a wedding. The church, the white dress - though we've probably ruined that by now, and the baby. Are you just with me until you meet a man who can give you all that? Or are you hoping that I'll somehow become that guy? What do you want from me?"

Collins tried not to laugh, she really didn't want to. Her best friend was clearly freaking out and the last thing she wanted to do was to make him think she thought it was funny. But she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. This was the last conversation she had ever expected to have with Daryl, especially at three in the morning when she had to be at work the next day. "First of all," she said quietly. "I want you to calm down. This freaking out Daryl is not something I'm used to and honestly you're kind of scaring me." She waited until Daryl had taken a few very deep, calming breaths before she continued. "As for the future, our future," she shrugged. "I mean I guess I've always figured that I'd want to get married and have a kid, yeah. But that's a while off. Have I imagined it with you? Yeah." She made a soft, soothing noise when she felt Daryl tense beside her. "But I've also imagined it with lots of other people ranging from Tom Cruise to Kevin Light, to random cute guys I met on the bus. Nothing's set in stone, and I'm pretty okay with where we are right now. As for what I want from us? I'd settle for a date," her voice got quieter there as if she was worried that she was going to scare Daryl away. "Just one. If it was weird or you didn't like it we'd never have to go on another one again. No pressure, I just think we owe it to each other to try, you know?"

"A date?" Daryl asked. She nodded. "Just one?" She nodded again. He paused, thinking about it for a moment. "I think I could do that," he said with a nod of his own. "I can do that." Collins raised her eyebrows at him for a moment before she lifted her head off his chest so that she could press her lips against his in a soft, gentle kiss. "Yeah," Daryl said with a nod. "I can do a date or two."

Three days later they were going on their first date. Daryl had been nervous when he first went to Collins' apartment to pick her up, but she had soon set him at ease. Apparently there was little difference between what they had been doing before and what they were doing now that they were dating. The only difference was that Collins smiled a bit more and that when Daryl looked at her he couldn't help but feel different, he wanted to use the word _girlfriend_. And he did. He reintroduced Collins to people who knew her, who had known her for years only this time he called her his girlfriend. They smiled at him as if they were proud of him for finally realizing what they had known for years, that he and Collins belonged together. The small girl had beamed at him the entire night and when he brought her home she had treated him to three rounds of the most amazing sex he had ever had. And hey, he figured, if that was what it meant to be Collins Davis's boyfriend he could handle that. He was more than okay with this.

Over the weeks very little changed between them. Aside from the fact that Collins now had a drawer at Daryl's place and he had some of his stuff at her apartment as well. They didn't spend every second together, they didn't stay over at each other's places every night. Daryl was still allowed to go out and drink with the guys, Collins didn't try to keep tabs on him or tell him what he could or couldn't do. Daryl kept waiting for her to decide that it was time for them to get more serious, to move in together and start talking about marriage (they had been together for arguably a long time now). But she never did, she seemed content at the pace they were going, she seemed happy to let him decide how serious they got and when. And he loved her for it. She was the first girlfriend he had ever had and honestly she would be the only one. He didn't fool himself into thinking that they would be together forever, that wasn't how Daryl's luck worked, but he was sure that Collins would be it for him. If he ever was going to get married it would be to this girl. He knew that and he was pretty sure that she knew it too.

They were at his apartment one night, curled up on the couch watching a chick flick that Collins had picked out. Daryl had never heard of the movie before, but it was right up Collins' alley. It was called the diary or something like that. Anyway, boy met girl and fell in love with her, girl was a bitch and didn't love him, girl fell in love, girl left and met another boy, something with a pond and a bunch of ducks, kissing in the rain. Daryl thought that the couple ended up together, but he's not sure. The old man and woman could be completely different characters. Collins told him that this was the most romantic movie she had ever seen, but Daryl thought the movie was kind of depressing. The old woman finally remembered everything and then they both died? What the hell kind of ending was that? Collins laughed at him when he told her that and she looped her arm through his, "Oh Dare," she sighed quietly. "You just don't get it. They're so in love, it's magic that she remembers. And they die together. It's really romantic, don't you think?"

"Sure," Daryl said with a nod. "Just what I'd want. To love a girl my entire life and then have her forget me. Only to remember me just in time for us to die. Sounds truly romantic and magical."

"You're only saying that because you don't have a romantic bone in your body. Normal people find this romantic and sweet. Normal people love this movie."

"Oh yeah?" Daryl asked, stretching his arm around her so that he could tickle her side. "And do you include yourself in these so called _normal people_? Because let me tell you, Honey, you are far from normal."

"I know," Collins said with a shrug. "Because I love you. A normal person in their right mind would run the hell away from you. And instead I keep coming back." She shook her head, "What is wrong with me?" she asked jokingly.

Daryl shrugged, "I don't know," he said, his tone playful. "I've been asking myself that for years." He chuckled and dodged Collins' hand when she reached out to hit him with the giggled command of _be nice_ falling from her lips. "That was me being nice," he told her as he inched closer to her. "If I was being mean I would tell you that I think your fucking crazy to want to be my friend or even more, my girlfriend. Absolutely crazy."

"And then how would you describe yourself?" Collins asked with a smile as she allowed Daryl to pull her back to him so that her back was pressed against his chest and his chin rested on her shoulder. She turned around and pressed a kiss against his temple, "For hanging out with a crazy person?" she clarified when her older friend raised his eyebrows at her.

"Absolutely crazy," Daryl said with another nod. "About you," he added because he knew that Collins liked cheesy, lovey-dovey stuff like that. It was his secret, he would never tell her this, but he actually meant it.

Collins giggled at him and kissed his temple again, "You're silly, Daryl Dixon," she told him. "Now," she paused for a moment, studying the older man's profile. "Take me to bed."

"Or lose you forever?" Daryl asked, quoting her favorite Tom Cruise movie.

"Nah," she said, shaking her head. "You haven't lost me yet. The chance of you losing me any time soon is very slim. I gotta say, you're stuck with me, Dixon." Daryl smiled, he didn't say anything about it, but he was pretty sure he liked the sound of being stuck with Collins Davis. For as long as she wanted him around.

-.-.-.-.-

It was close to Christmas when Daryl messed everything up. The worst thing about it was that he honestly had no excuse for his behavior. He hadn't seen Collins for a while, she had been busy with her students and when he did see her she was tense and her mind was on what was happening at her school. The week before Christmas she had gone to a teaching conference in Atlanta and they hadn't seen each other at all. She had called him that morning to tell him that she was coming home earlier than she had thought and she wanted to know if they could see each other that night. Daryl, who hadn't been expecting to see her until the next morning, had told her that he had some plans for the evening with Merle and some of the other guys. Collins wasn't as upset as most girls would have been. She had told him that it was fine. That had made Daryl feel a bit guilty and he had promised to try to come home early so that they could spend some time together before Collins fell asleep. She told him that she'd try to wait up for him, but not to come home too early on her account. "Merle will kill me if he thinks that you're ditching him for me."

Daryl smiled at that. He was sure that he had the best girlfriend in the world. So he went out with his brother and their friends and he drank and he thought about leaving early to go back to Collins' place to welcome her home, but the guys started ragging on him about his _little lady_ and telling him that he was whipped. So to prove to them that he wasn't whipped he drank more than he probably should have and when a girl from another town hit on him he let her think that he was single. And then he drank some more. He didn't remember much else from that night, but he woke up in an apartment that he didn't recognize with a girl he didn't remember and eight missed calls from Collins on his phone. He called her back as he was sneaking out of the woman's apartment. Collins wasn't angry at him, she was worried. She had assumed that he had stayed out with the guys and that one of them, probably Merle, had gotten out of hand and needed Daryl to help him get home.

And Daryl felt guilty. This girl was so sweet and trusting. She didn't even question or doubt him. He told her that she was right. He told her that Merle had gotten too drunk the night before and that his older brother had needed him to take care of him. He told her that he was sorry that he hadn't called her or at least texted her. She had been easy on him, had even laughed at his apologies before she told him not to worry, she wasn't angry, she was just relieved that he was okay. And Daryl told her that he loved her. He meant it too. That word wasn't new to them, they had been telling each other that they loved each other for almost twenty years, but this time it was different. Daryl was telling Collins that he was in love with her and he could tell from the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line that she knew this time was different. She didn't tell him that she loved him back, instead she told him that he shouldn't say things like that over the phone. (Her exact words had been, _We should talk about how there are certain things you say in person. This is one of them. Now get over here so I can see you._)

Daryl had never loved her more than in that moment. He was so happy when he walked into his apartment to see her sitting on his couch next to the Christmas tree she had brought the night before to surprise him with. It was decorated and he was surprised at how much he liked it, he had never had a Christmas tree at the apartment before. "Hey stranger," Collins said with an easy going smile as she uncurled her legs and climbed off the couch so that she could make her way over to him. "I missed you," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes so that she could kiss his lips. "This was a very long week without you."

"I know," Daryl said with a nod. "At least you had something to distract you. All I had was this town and Merle. Hell of way to spend the week, don't you think?"

Collins giggled and rested her forehead against his chest, just resting and inhaling Daryl's scent. He still smelled the same even after all these years. It was a mix of Georgia pine trees and the outdoors, leather and man. It was just ... _Daryl_ and Collins loved it. It always made her feel safe and secure in a way that nothing else could. Daryl dropped his head so that he could press a kiss against the top of Collins' head, "So Sweetheart," he breathed quietly, "what do you want to do today? Got any plans for me now that I'm back?"

Collins shook her head, but she didn't lift her forehead off his chest. "No plans," she said quietly, her voice barely a whisper. "I just want you to hold me. I've missed you, I've missed this. All week all I could think about was being in your arms when I got back home. All I could think about was this. Right here. Just you and me. And _this_." She paused for a moment and she finally lifted her head off his chest enough that Daryl could make eye contact with her. "I love you," she told him quietly, a smile spreading across her lips as her words sunk in. "I love you too." Daryl smiled down at her and he kissed her and he told her how much he liked hearing it. Collins giggled and shook her head, "Then I'll have to tell you all the time," she promised. "I love you, I love you, I love you." Daryl wondered if she knew how guilty she made him feel.

They had a quiet afternoon. Along with the Christmas tree she had brought some of her favorite Christmas movies over to his apartment so she and Daryl spent the rest of the day and night curled on the couch, drinking egg nog, eating her homemade sugar cookies, and watching movies like _Miracle on 34th Street_ and _It's a Wonderful Life_. The second one had always been a favorite of Collins' though Daryl would never understand why. Most of the movie had nothing to do with Christmas and if the viewer was being honest with themselves then they would have to admit that the main character's life sucked. But Collins always hushed him when he talked like that and she told him the same thing every year when he complained, "His life doesn't suck," she'd tell him. "He has a girl that loves him and a town full of people that appreciate him and care about him. That's a lot more than most people have in this world. It's romantic."

Once the movie was done and Collins had cried her way through all the tissues Daryl had in his apartment, which admittedly wasn't many, Daryl had scooped the small woman up in his arms and carried her over to his bed where they made love three times. Daryl thought that he'd feel better after they slept together, the woman from the night before had meant nothing to him, how he felt with Collins right now was proof of that. He wasn't sleeping with her to prove to himself that she met more to him than any other person on the earth. He was trying to prove it to her. But with each time they had sex Daryl felt even guiltier than he had that morning when he woke up in bed next to another woman. Collins was beautiful, smart, funny, kind, trusting, and so right for him and she thought the world of him. And Daryl had betrayed her in the worst way, and she didn't even know it. He knew that he should tell her the truth, tell her what he had done and ask for her forgiveness, but Christmas was her favorite holiday and it was only two days away. He couldn't ruin that for her, he didn't want to. He'd never forgive himself for hurting her.

"Are you okay?" Collins asked quietly after their third round, she reached her hand up and brushed some of Daryl's dark, sweat slicked hair away from his blue eyes. "You're being awfully quiet. Usually I can't get you to shut up about how tight I am or how flexible I am, or how," she paused, "whatever. It's like you're trying to make the neighbors jealous. But tonight you've been quiet. And you didn't even complain about the movies. That's not like you at all." When Daryl didn't say anything she sighed and sat up, using the sheet to cover her breasts. Daryl smiled at the action, even after all these years Collins was still slightly modest. He loved that quirk of hers. "What's wrong?" she asked, her brows furrowing in confusion.

Daryl sighed and reached out, using his thumb to rub away the worry line that was formed above her nose. "Nothing's wrong," he tried to reassure her, though he could tell by the look on her face that she was far from convinced. "I just have to talk to you about something."

"I know what you're going to say," Collins said softly. Daryl looked at her, his eyebrows raised in a silent question, he was sure that she had no idea what he was going to say. "And the answer's yes," Collins said with a smile and a nod. "Even after what he said to me last week your brother is more than welcome at my apartment for Christmas dinner. Lord knows I'm going to have more than enough food, even with the two Dixon brothers over there."

Daryl chuckled and shook his head as he leaned forward so that he could press his lips against hers. "I don't deserve you," he told her, his tone open and honest in a way that was very rare.

Collins shrugged, "You probably don't," she told him softly, she winked at him so that he would know that she was joking, that she completely believed that he did deserve her. Daryl shook his head silently, if she had any idea what he had done she wouldn't say that. She laughed and leaned in to kiss him again, "It doesn't matter," she told him once she had pulled away. "I've decided that you're it for me. So whether you deserve me or not you're stuck. Besides, it's no big deal. He's your brother, I wouldn't keep you away from him. And Merle," she paused and shook her head, a laugh escaping her lips as if she couldn't believe that she was about to say what was running through her head. "Merle's basically family now. My family. Of course he'll be there."

Daryl leaned forward and kissed the brunette soundly on her lips. He was so honored that she wanted to be with him. "What is it you want?" he asked her when he pulled away, he knew he hadn't gotten the line right, Collins could quote the movie backwards and forwards. Daryl couldn't, but he could tell by the sparkle in her brown eyes that she understood what he was doing. "Do you want the moon? That's a pretty good idea, I'll give you the moon."

"I'll take it," she whispered before she leaned in, closing the distance between them so that she could press her lips against his again. This time neither of them pulled away.

-.-.-.-.-

It was Christmas day when it all fell apart for Daryl. He and Merle showed up at Collins' apartment in the early afternoon and she met them both at the door with a grin on her face and a present shoved at them. She had gotten each of them a gift card to their favorite hunting store. She had also given Daryl back his old hunting knife that she had stolen years ago with a bright red bow tied around it (Merle got a bottle of body wash). Daryl found the body wash funny, Merle did not. But his older brother knew not to be rude about it, he had been kicked out of Collins' apartment before on a holiday and he could already smell the food cooking now, he didn't want to miss out on this dinner, so he kept his mouth shut.

Daryl offered to help Collins in the kitchen, but her kitchen was so small that there was no room for the two of them in the kitchen so she sent him into the living room where Merle was already sitting on the couch watching some man show. It took an hour for Collins to finish the dinner and for it to be ready for them on the table. The three of them sat down, making small talk for a few minutes before Collins turned to Merle. "How are you feeling, Merle?" she asked him softly.

"Just fine, Sweetheart," Merle leered at her. "Why do you ask?"

"I hear you had a rough night a few nights ago. Daryl told me he had to help you get home the night I got back in town. I just wanted to make sure you okay."

Daryl's eyes widened and he shot a look at Merle, silently pleading with his brother. If Merle understood his request he didn't listen. "Well, Sugar Tits, I don't know what _Darlina_ told you, but I wasn't the one who had a rough night that night. That was all on baby brother."

Collins turned to look at Daryl with wide, surprised eyes. She wasn't necessarily upset that he had lied to her, she was just confused as to why he had felt the need to. She would have been a bit annoyed if he had told her that he had gotten too drunk to come see her the night she got back. Annoyed, but not angry. She would have understood, she had interrupted a guys' night after all. "I don't understand," she said quietly, glancing between the two Dixon brothers. "Why didn't you just tell me that?" she asked Daryl, her brown eyes locking onto his blue ones. "You could have called me! I would have come and picked you up. I wouldn't have minded, I do it for this idiot all the time," she gestured toward Merle without looking away from Daryl.

Merle chuckled loudly and Daryl shot his brother a glare over Collins' shoulder. He knew that Merle and Collins didn't get along all the time, but he liked to think that Merle cared enough about Collins that he wouldn't deliberately break her heart, he might purposefully hurt her feelings, but he'd never break her heart. But Merle didn't seem to realize how much what he was about to say would hurt the brunette because he kept going. "Oh he had someone to take him home, don't you worry about that, little girl." Collins assumed that Merle meant that he had been the one to take care of Daryl, she was about to thank him when Merle started to speak again, "What was that bitch's name, baby brother?" He paused, his eyes narrowing as he tried to remember, "Mia? Nina? I don't remember, but she sure was fine." Merle glanced at Collins and smirked at her, "You know what he told us when he left with her?"

"No," Collins said, her tone was flat and there was no emotion on her face. It scared Daryl. "But I can imagine. What did he say?" She wasn't sure why she was asking this, she really didn't want to know what Daryl had said when he left the bar with another woman. But she had this morbid curiosity like when she passed a car crash and just had to look for body bags, she knew this was going to be bad, but she had to know. She needed to know, no matter how much it hurt her.

Merle chuckled and shook his head at Daryl when his brother tried to protest, to stop this conversation before it got any worse. "He bet me fifty bucks that he could get the bitch's bra off before they got to his truck." Daryl flinched, there weren't many things that he could remember from that night, but he could almost remember this. "We watched them from the window," Merle continued as he leaned forward in his chair so that he could pull his wallet out of his back pocket. "Here you go, baby brother," he said, dropping two twenty dollar bills and a ten on the middle of the table. "You more than earned it. I'm pretty sure that you had her underwear off too."

It was silent around the table for almost a minute after Merle's speech. But it was broken by the noise of a sniff coming from Collins' seat. Daryl turned to look at her and she turned away from him quickly, but not before he saw the tear slipping down her cheek. "Merle," she whispered quietly, "why don't you take a plate into the living room and watch tv? Let's be honest, that's all you've wanted to do since dinner started." She turned to look at Daryl, but she didn't quite meet his eyes, "Daryl, can you come with me for a moment. I think we need to talk about something."

"Baby," Daryl whispered as he stood up from the table. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he felt like he needed to tell her something, to try to make this hurt her less. She didn't look at him, she shook her head and quickly turned to walk toward her bedroom, she didn't even pause to see if Daryl was following her, she knew that he would be.

"I should have known," she said quietly once the door shut behind them. She shook her head and more tears slipped out of her eyes. "I should have seen it. God I'm such a fucking idiot. How did I miss this? I mean you told me you loved me! I should have known! And you watched _It's a Wonderful Life_ without complaining. You quoted the damn movie to me! I should have known that Daryl Dixon would never do any of that unless he was feeling guilty But I didn't want to see it, I purposefully ignored it because I didn't want to believe that you would do that to me." Daryl tried to argue with her but she shook her head. "Just tell me," she whispered quietly as she sat down on the bed. "Just tell me, Daryl. I won't be angry," she told him. Daryl nodded, she wouldn't be angry, she would be heartbroken and that was worse.

Daryl sighed, he wanted to tell her that Merle was lying, that his older brother was just trying to make trouble, but he knew that Collins wouldn't believe it, she would know that he was lying now. He sighed, he was about to break her heart more than Merle already had. "I was really drunk," he told her quietly as if that would somehow excuse his behavior. Collins scoffed quietly to herself and shook her head. "She didn't mean anything to me," Daryl told her, trying to convince Collins of the fact that he already knew - the girl had been a mistake, one that he was always going to regret. "She never meant anything to me, it was a stupid mistake that I wanted to take back the moment I made it. She's not you, Collins. And that wasn't guilt the other day. I really do love you." Collins shook her head, but she didn't say anything. Daryl allowed her to quietly sit there for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Pretty girl say something, I don't like it when you're quiet like this." After her initial outburst he had expected the young brunette to yell at him after he made his confession, he hadn't expected this silence, it scared him.

Collins scoffed again and shrugged, "And what am I supposed to say?" she asked him, reaching up so that she could wipe at the tears sliding down her cheeks. "That I forgive you? That things can go back to normal just like that?" she snapped her fingers in the air. "I can't do that Daryl. I wish I could, but I can't." She paused for a moment, and shook her head at him. "It wasn't because you were drunk," she whispered quietly. "You were with the guys," Daryl nodded though her statement hadn't been a question. "Knowing Merle, he made fun of you for being whipped or some bullshit like that, am I right?" Daryl nodded again, Collins knew him too well. She nodded too, "So to prove that you weren't whipped you got drunk and went home with another woman. I get it." That surprised Daryl, her tone was flat, but she said that she understood. "I do," Collins said when he looked skeptical. "You were scared, but," she paused again, "but I think you knew what you were doing. You were scared and you did the one thing you know I wouldn't be able to forgive you for. The one thing." She sniffed back more tears. "We've been doing whatever this is since I was eighteen. That's seven years, Daryl, and in all that time you never slept with anyone else. But now, when things get serious, when we decide to try to date, you cheat on me? You knew I wouldn't be able to look the other way on that."

"Collins," Daryl said softly, trying to make her forget what he was sure she was about to say. He knew the girl had been a mistake and now more than ever he knew that he would never make that mistake again.

She shook her head and stood up from the bed. "I think," she said softly as she moved toward her bedroom door. "I think you should go now." She opened the door and was surprised when Merle who had been leaning against the door, listening to their quiet conversation, fell onto the floor at her feet. "Don't worry, Merle," she said quietly, her tone sarcastic and slightly angry. "You have your brother and your wingman back. I'm not going to get in your way anymore."

"Now Sweetheart," Merle argued as he stood up from the floor. "I hadn't meant to ruin nothing. You weren't in my way. I wasn't tryin' to get rid of you. I didn't know this would be such a big deal, now."

Collins smiled sadly at the two Dixon brothers, "You didn't know it would be such a big deal, and maybe it shouldn't have been. But it still happened. And now I know." She shook her head, Daryl knew her well enough to know that she was trying to stop herself from sobbing uncontrollably. She may not have been able to keep the tears from falling in front of them, but she wasn't going to let them see her bawl. "Merry Christmas, you guys," she said softly. "I don't hate you," she told Daryl, though she wouldn't look at him, she simply turned in his direction. "I couldn't hate you. But I don't know if I can forgive you either." She turned away from them when Daryl made some noise about calling her soon. "No," she said, shaking her head. "If I want to talk to you let me come to you, please. If I don't, then just leave me alone. I can't," she paused and Daryl could almost hear her heart break in the silence. "I can't look at you right now. Please leave me alone."

Daryl nodded and turned to leave the room, pulling Merle behind him. "I love you, Pretty girl," he told her quietly, unashamed of what Merle would think when he heard it. Collins' only answer was a noise somewhere between a scoff and a sob. As far as Daryl was concerned that was the most heartbreaking sound in the world, one he'd never want to hear again. And one he was determined to make up for, even if it took everything in him.

* * *

Author's note:  
And there's the fifth chapter. Please don't hate me for making Daryl cheat on her. It just had to happen.  
A lot of people were assuming that the Walkers would show up in this chapter.  
Nope ... but maybe in the next one. (And by maybe I mean definitely in the next one.)  
Anyways, thanks for stopping by and reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.  
Special thanks goes to:_CassieNicole, IndigoFades, Liv3Lov3Music, cullenforevah, Asalija, CeliaSingsSongs, Michelle Andolini, _and _kc4612_ for adding this story to their **Favorites List**.  
And to: _CassieNicole, Dominic19832002, IndigoFades, JumbledThoughts, Lady of Sign, Liv3Lov3Music, RecalcitrantRach, Vivian Gandillon, WhiskeyHandz, breaktheseodds, Asalija, CeliaSingsSongs, Dakota Jane, Michelle Andolini, StanziWood, electrogril88, fleuret, liz122474, stacikate16, curls90, redgirl123, _and _ShiroKoneko82 _who added this to their **Alerts List**.  
But as always the **BIGGEST** of special thanks goes to those of you who **REVIEWED** on the last chapter. So **THANK YOU:  
Leyshla Gisel:** I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope that you liked this one too ... even though it didn't exactly paint Daryl in the best light. Don't worry though, he won't be _the bad guy_ for long. I have plans for the next chapter!  
**Whiskey Handz: **Your review made me so happy! I am so glad that you've never read anything like this before and that I was able to give you something new! I'm glad you love it and I love you too. :D  
**Lady of Sign: **I'm glad that you're enjoying their relationship. I am too. I was really worried about how people would take the ten year age difference and the fact that Daryl and Collins met when she was basically a baby. But I'm glad to see that I didn't make it seem creepy and you guys are enjoying it. :D As for Walkers ... not this chapter, but definitely the next one. I had a lot of fun writing that chapter.  
**CeliaSingsSongs: **Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying this story. And I'm glad that it's well written, that's always fun to know. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**mellbell12123: **No! You're amazing! Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad that you love the story and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others! Thank you!  
**Asalija: **Aww! I love when people from AWASG come over here! Welcome! I'm so glad that you're enjoying this story and I hope that you liked this chapter. (Even though you didn't get the zombies in this one ... next one. Pinky promise.)  
I'm glad you like Collins! I'm really glad! I love her and Daryl together (even when I make Daryl be the butt who cheats on her) because they're perfect for each other and they don't even realize it. And you're right, it would have been fun to write a talk between Daryl and Hunter ... hmmm ... plot bunny.  
**StanziWood: **I'm glad that you enjoyed the story so far and that you think it's cute! That makes me happy! So thank you for your review! And thank you so much for coming over from AWASG! Changes of pace are always nice. :D  
And that's all I've got for now. Thank you guys, you're amazing.  
Until next time, happy reading!  
Hugs and kisses,  
Chloe Jane.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any recognizable characters. I wish I did though, Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus and I would have some fun if I did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Welp this is embarrassing:  
A few of you have asked me to check out your stories on this site and to tell you what I think about them. And while I've agreed to look into a few of them, I'm generally cautious about it. When I'm writing a story for a fandom I tend to avoid reading stories from their fandom so that there's no accidental spill over from a story I've read into one of mine. This might have happened with "If I Die Young". I don't remember reading BeingLolaStar's story "A Million Reasons Why" but there are some similarities (especially in chapter three). And I've talked it over with BeingLolaStar and while there was no purposeful plagiarism there are enough similarities to make us nervous. So I'm going to put this disclaimer here stating that parts of her story are head cannon for mine. And if any of you guys are interested in her story, go read it! It's amazing.**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just a reminder:  
1. I'm playing around with Daryl's age a bit in this. In the show Daryl's in his early to mid 40s when the zombie apocalypse happens. In this story he's going to be thirty-six.  
2. There will be ten chapters in this story. (No more, no less.) But they will be long chapters, ten pages each. So by the time this story is done you guys will have read one hundred pages about Daryl and Collins.  
3. Each chapter is going to be about a different age. The characters are going to be getting older with each chapter, there will be no flashbacks, but there is really no rhyme or reason as to how much time has passed between each chapter.  
4. This story is going to have its good and happy moments. But it is not going to be a particularly happy story.  
5. There will be mentions and descriptions of **domestic violence**. If that is a **trigger** for you (**then you're probably not a fan of Daryl Dixon and probably aren't reading this story**) but here's the warning just in case.  
6. Reviews are like air. I love them.

And if anyone's still reading this ... here's the 6th chapter:  
(Also ... **WALKERS**)

* * *

"You can't keep ignoring him like this, Sweetheart," Merle all but begged more than half a year later. Collins glanced up at the redneck and raised her eyebrows at him before she glanced back at the beer glass she was filling. It was summer and she had a part time job as a bartender at the local bar to earn a little extra money while she wasn't teaching. "I get it," Merle said with a nod, "he fucked up and you were angry at him. But that was months ago and he still feels horrible about it. Throw the boy a bone, he's not the same without you."

"He should have thought about that before he blew it," Collins muttered as she moved away from Merle to deliver the beer to the man that had ordered it. She smiled at the man, a regular at the bar, "There you go, Randy. Just remember to pay your tab this time, okay?" The man smiled at her and nodded as he took his beer away from the bar so that he could go flirt with the barely legal girls who were trying to play pool at the back corner of the bar.

"I don't get how you can be nice and polite to that scum and not give my baby brother another chance," Merle said, shaking his head disapprovingly at the brunette.

Collins sighed and reached into the fridge under the bar, pulling out two beers and using the bottle opener attached to her belt to open them. She handed one to Merle and kept the other for herself, "This is on your tab," she said, gesturing with her free hand to the beers in each of their hands. "And the reason I can be nice to Randy and not the piece of scum that is your brother is because Randy didn't cheat on me and break my heart." Merle tried to argue, but Collins shook her head, over the past seven or so months she had heard every one of Merle's arguments. "We were dating, Merle, actual dating. A real relationship. And he slept with her to prove to you guys and himself that he didn't care about me as much as I thought he had. And then on the morning he wakes up in some other girl's apartment he has the nerve to tell me that he loves me. I trusted him," she shook her head, she couldn't believe she was telling Merle this and she didn't even have the excuse of being drunk. She was stone cold sober and telling him things that she would only ever say to Daryl. But Daryl wasn't around anymore and Merle was the best replacement she had, at least he was a Dixon - if she closed her eyes she could almost imagine that she was talking to Daryl. "He was the only man I've ever really trusted and he did that. I can't forgive him or trust him again."

"See, that's something I don't understand about the two of you," Merle said quietly. "You both seem stuck on the fact that he was the only guy you trusted. I ain't buying what your tryin' to sell. I keep telling him to come here and force you to talk to him and he keeps mumblin' about how he let you down and he'll never be able to make it up. And you tell me that he betrayed you. I find it hard to believe that he was the only guy you ever trusted." Merle leaned back on his stool and for a moment Collins was afraid that he was going to fall off of it, but he caught himself and continued to study her. "What happened to you, Brown Eyes?" he asked her, dropping the nickname he only used on her when he wanted something (it was usually alcohol, but, tonight it seemed that Merle Dixon was after information). "A pretty girl like you who has the world at her feet and men beggin' to lick the dirt off your shoes, and yes - I include my brother in that group. You have no reason to be this cynical and distrustful. No reason."

Collins stared at him for a moment, she and Merle had never talked about her life while she lived with her parents, but she had always assumed that Daryl had said something to his older brother. It seemed like the only reason that Merle would put up with her. But now he was telling her that he had no idea what her life had been like. Her confusion and surprise quickly shifted to anger, who was he to tell her that she had no reason to be the way she was? What gave Merle Dixon the right to tell her that she hadn't suffered. She was satisfied to see that Merle shifted uncomfortably and nervously on his stool when she glared at him. Good, she thought, he had every right to know that he shouldn't have told her that. She leaned forward so that she would be able to whisper, just close enough that the older man would be able to hear every word above the noise of the bar. "I have no reason?" she asked him, "No fucking reason?" she hissed. She shifted forward even more so that when she pulled the collar of her shirt away from her skin he would be able to see the long ago healed scars from cigarette burns that decorated the skin below her collar bones. "What about these?" she asked him.

Merle made a noise of surprise and almost concern, but Collins wasn't done yet. She stepped away from the bar so that when she lifted her shirt up he would be able to see the long scar on her stomach from when she was running with scissors. "Or that?" she asked him angrily. Before he could stop her she spun around so that she could lift up the back of her shirt and he would be able to see the crisscrossing of scars big and small that littered the small of her back. "Or those? Or what about the countless bruises, split lips, broken bones, and trips to the emergency room?" she hissed at him. "Are those still not reason enough for me to be _cynical and distrustful_?" She used his words against him with a bitter sarcasm.

"Collins," Merle breathed quietly, she had humbled him and anyone who knew Merle Dixon knew that that was hard to do and didn't happen very often.

"And what about all the broken promises? All the _Oh honey girl, I'm so sorry. I never meant to get so angry! I promise that this will never happen again! I'll get help. Don't be scared. I will always love you_'s that I've heard over the years? Is that any reason for me to go around trusting everybody I meet when the one person in the world that I should be able to trust, the one person who was supposed to protect me was the one that was hurting me?"

"Jesus, Brown Eyes," Merle muttered and Collins almost felt bad for shocking him. "I had no idea."

"Damn right you had no idea," she muttered quietly, still a bit angry. "It just goes to show that you shouldn't walk around judging people, Merle Dixon. You shouldn't judge anyone until you know what they've lived through. Even _pretty girls like me who have the world at their feet and men begging to lick the dirt of their shoes._" Merle flinched, there she went using his words against him again and making him feel like shit. He was about to say something else, but it seemed that Collins had had enough of him for the time being. She shook her head at him and held up a staying hand, "I have to go take care of the other people, Dixon, can you handle not getting completely wasted and needing your brother to pick you up tonight? I can't handle seeing him, especially not after that."

Merle nodded and watched as the brunette took a moment to compose herself, to fix her shirt and move down the bar to see if she could help anybody. Randy had made his way back to the bar during their conversation and from the sounds of it he had seen part of it. "Say Collie," the old man slurred as she started to refill his glass. "If I buy you a beer can I have a show with my drink too? First the younger Dixon, who was too old for you, now the older one. If I stick around for a bit longer will I be in your age range?"

"Back off Henderson," Merle growled as he moved off the stool and grabbed the back of Randy's collar. "I think you've had enough for the night. And Daryl won't take none to kindly to hearin' that you've been after his woman. And he can sure as hell beat your ass better than I could. Go home." He pushed the drunk man out of the bar and shut the door behind him before he moved back to where Collins was standing, stunned, behind the bar. "You're welcome," Merle muttered as he sat back down on his stool.

"I didn't ask for or need your help," Collins argued with him as she turned around and emptied the half filled glass of beer into the sink behind her. "And Randy left without paying his tab again. If he keeps doing that on my shifts I'm going to get fired." Merle was about to complain about the fact that all the brunette could do was complain when he heard her heave a large, heavy sigh. "But thank you, Merle," she told him, her voice and the line in her neck tense as she thanked him, all the while refusing to make eye contact with him.

He chuckled and shook his head, "God," he muttered more to himself than the girl, but he knew she could hear him. "You always were a stubborn bitch weren't you?" Collins paused for a moment to look insulted before she started laughing along with him. "And don't worry about Randy and his tab. He runs out on everybody and Frank ain't fired any of you girls yet," Merle nodded, she was in an almost good mood again, good. "Who was it?" he asked her softly once they had stopped laughing. He knew he didn't need to explain more, he didn't need to tell her who he was talking about, she would understand his question.

She bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before she responded, "My father," she said with a soft shrug. "Like I said, the one person I was supposed to be able to trust." She looked down the bar to make sure that no one needed her for anything. She leaned over the bar so that she was closer to Merle and clasped her hands in front of her, "Did Daryl ever tell you how we met?" she asked him softly.

Merle shook his head, "I was in prison when you guys met," he told her, "short visit. I was too old for juvie, had too much of a history, but I was too young for any real hard time. Anyway, I was gone when Daryl decided to become a pedophile pervert and start hangin' out with a damn five-year-old."

Collins sighed, "He was neither a pedophile or a pervert," she told him, unsure of why she was defending the man who she swore she hated. "He was my friend, he never did anything inappropriate with me. Not until I was legal and I asked him to," she sighed, "more like begged him to in a very drunken manner." She sighed again and shook her head at the grin that was slowly spreading across Merle's lips, this was not how she had wanted this conversation to go. "We met in the emergency room," she told him quietly. "My father had broken my arm and given me a black eye and Daryl, the klutz that he is had fallen through a glass door." That was a lie, she and Daryl both knew that their father had abused Merle, but he hadn't started abusing Daryl until after Merle had left and the youngest Dixon had never wanted his brother to know what their father had done to him. Merle would kill their father, there was no question about that. "My mom was trying to pretend that nothing was wrong, that we weren't sitting in the emergency room because her husband was a bastard who couldn't control his anger. She left me to go outside, I told her she could, and while she was smoking a cigarette I rather determinedly made Daryl my best friend. He really had no choice, you think I've got people eating out of my hand now? You should have seen me back then. I was fucking adorable."

"I know," Merle said with a nod. "I've seen a picture of you and Daryl at his apartment when you were that age." Collins raised her eyebrows at that, she knew the picture well, she was simply surprised that Merle had ever paid enough attention to notice it. The picture had been taken during the summer after she turned six. Daryl had taken her to the lake and Ella, her neighbor back then, had snapped the picture of the two of them on the lake front beach. Daryl was crouched down so that he was on Collins' level. She was standing slightly in front of him, wearing one of her best dresses, with her hand resting on his knee while she told him some, at the time, very important story while looking at the water. Daryl wasn't looking at the water though, he was looking at the small brunette child as if she was the most entertaining thing in his world.

Once when Daryl had been very drunk, Collins wasn't sure which year it was, maybe around the time she was fifteen, he had told her why he still had that picture in his apartment. It was how he defined their friendship. He was constantly watching Collins, constantly in awe of her, constantly trying to keep up with her while she moved around his life and made herself comfortable. He had drunkenly called her a whirlwind and a tornado. It made Collins smile, she had always liked that description of herself better than the _crazy five year old who latched on and wouldn't let go_ which is what Daryl called her when she was being impertinent.

"I was pretty cute back then," she said with a nod, coming back to the present conversation with Merle. "Anyway, Daryl was powerless against my adorableness and my determination. He was my best friend, my big brother, and my protector. He promised me that he would never hurt me like my father did, that he would always be there for me and take care of me. Which is why it hurt so much when you told me he'd cheated on me around Christmas. The Daryl Dixon I knew and loved would never have done that to me. But, I guess, the real Daryl Dixon would." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders again. "It just sucked," she whispered.

"He misses you," Merle told her quietly. He was going to kill his brother and the girl in front of him for making him play Cupid. It wasn't a role that he particularly enjoyed, but he couldn't stand seeing his brother like this anymore. And after learning that he and Collins had the same kind of history he honestly regretted causing her anymore pain, not that he would admit it out loud. If he had known this side of Collins Davis he would have never made fun of his little brother for being whipped. He could almost understand it. "He really does. And I wasn't making shit up when I told you that he ain't the same without you."

"I know," Collins admitted with a nod. "I'm not the same without him either. I used to tell him that we make each other make sense. I don't understand me when he's not around." She shook her head. "But that's not going to change anything, Merle," she told him, shooting him a pointed look. "I'm not ready, I can't do it yet. You understand, right?"

Merle nodded, he did understand. "I just have one more question, Brown Eyes," he told her. She sighed and rolled her eyes playfully before she looked at him, waiting silently, expectantly for what she was sure was another question about when she was going to stop ignoring Daryl. "When did Daryl make the jump from your big brother to the guy whose dick you sucked?" Merle asked, grinning lewdly at her. "And how can I make that transition."

Collins surprised him. Instead of looking scandalized and getting angry at him she threw her head back and laughed. "I'm sorry Merle," she told him once she had managed to stop laughing at him. "I make it a point to only screw one family member. You're shit out of luck." Merle chuckled and shook his head before he handed her the money to pay not only his tab, but Randy's as well. Collins raised her eyebrows at the older man in surprise, Merle didn't say anything though, he silently stood up from his stool and pretended to tip an invisible hat at her before he left the bar. Collins stared after him in surprise, that was the most mature she had ever seen him and she kind of liked the mature Merle Dixon.

-.-.-.-.-

All thoughts of liking Merle Dixon disappeared no more than a week later when the man was drunk and leaning over the bar, yelling and gesturing around the bar about only he knew what. Collins was pretty sure that the multiple trips to the bathroom had been for drugs. She had not given Merle enough alcohol to get him to this level, and the other bartenders that worked on Saturdays knew to leave Merle to Collins so they wouldn't have given the man anything. But Merle had taken several long trips to the bathroom and she wouldn't have been surprised if he had been snorting cocaine off of the counter. She dropped her hand over Merle's and forced a smile onto her lips when his bleary, unfocused eyes tried to land on her. "Merle Dixon," she said, her voice a mix of firm, yet caring - the way they told you to talk to dogs, "I think it's time to get you home. Where are your keys? I'll drive you home because you sure as hell aren't getting in my car."

"Don't worry Sugar Tits," Merle slurred at her. "I used the pay phone in the hallway. My baby brother is coming to get me. You don't have to worry none about me. I ain't your responsibility." Collins groaned and stomped away from Merle. This is why she had offered to drive Merle home, she hadn't wanted Daryl to come pick him up. James, one of the other bartenders, had obviously been listening to her and Merle because when she approached him he threw his arm around her shoulders and quietly suggested that Collins take a break as the door to the bar opened. "Hey ginger!" Merle yelled down the bar, "Get away from my brother's girl!"

Collins rolled her eyes and turned back toward Merle to tell him to shut up when her words caught in her throat. He was standing there, in the door, staring at her. She should have known that she would see him, this shouldn't have been a surprise. This was a long time coming. James didn't notice that she had paused, Merle didn't notice the fear that crossed over her face, but Daryl did when he walked through the door behind the man. He didn't recognize the man, he wasn't like Collins who would recognize this man anywhere, but he knew the look on the small brunette's face. He didn't care that the last time they had talked she had been crying; he didn't care about the fact that now, every time she saw him, she glared at him. All he cared about was the fact that his best friend was scared. He pushed past the brunette man in front of him and walked to the bar, putting both hands on the bar top so that he could boost himself over it and get closer to the brunette.

He knew that something was wrong when she didn't even react to him getting closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and whispered what he hoped was reassuring words as he turned her away from whatever was frightening her, he assumed that it was Merle. "What's wrong?" he whispered to her while he dropped a few kisses onto the top of her head. "What's going on, Pretty girl?"

Collins' body was shaking in his grasp and for a moment she didn't say anything. Daryl could feel her tears soaking through his shirt and he felt even worse. He started to pull away, thinking that maybe it was his fault that she was like this. He didn't get far though, when the brunette felt him start to pull away her arms shot out and looped themselves under his, her fingernails dug into his back in a way that silently begged him to stay close to her. Daryl wasn't going to move. She dropped her head, burying her face in his shirt while she tried to stem the tears that were slipping down her cheeks. Once she had gotten herself under control she lifted her head and glanced behind Daryl. The man had come closer to the bar in the time she had been crying. "What are you doing here?" she growled.

Daryl thought that she was talking to him, he was about to tell her that he was just there to pick up his brother when a voice sounded from behind him. "Hey Honey Girl," a low voice almost growled, he felt Collins start shaking again in his arms. "Your mama and I have missed you so much." And then it clicked for him.

Collins wasn't afraid of him, she wasn't upset at him for being there. She was upset because her father was in her bar. He pulled away from Collins, forcing himself to ignore the noise of protest she made when he did so. He turned around to face the man he had only seen a few times during the twenty years that he was friends with his daughter, "What the hell are you doing here?" he growled, glaring at the man. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Talkin' to her? What gave you that right? Get the fuck out."

Collins didn't protest, but she did start to cry. The man held his hands up in protest, an easy smile slipping onto his lips. "Easy there, Son," he told Daryl, glancing around the bar as if he had done nothing wrong. "Daryl, is it?" the older man asked. "Yes," he said with a nod, "I've heard about you. You were _friends_ with my daughter when she was younger." Daryl didn't like the way the man said the word _friends_, it made it sound dirty and perverted in a way that their relationship had never been. "And then when she got older, barely legal even, you became more than friends, is that right?" Daryl growled his assent. The man nodded, "Yes. And what are you doing now?" he asked, "you're here on some misguided belief that she needs your protection? From me? My, my, what has the little bitch been telling you?"

Daryl growled again. He hated this man because he knew him. This man was everything his father had been. He was an asshole and he was angry; sure, he was able to pretend that he was calm and pleasant but Daryl could see the anger simmering under the surface. And the bastard was cocky, he was way too confident, Daryl could see that in the way he tried to turn the tables on him. Daryl had gotten angry at him for showing up at the bar that Collins worked at and her father had turned it around on him, reminded everyone that was listening to them that he and the girl who was ten years younger than him had started their friendship when the girl was only five years old, and then reminding them of the fact that they were now, or had been, sleeping together. The little statement at the end had been the hardest part for Daryl, _My, my, what has the little bitch been telling you?_ He was implying that Collins had lied to him, that everything he knew about her was fake. It wasn't though. Daryl knew that, Collins knew that, and what surprised him the most was the look on his brother's face said that he knew it too. When had Merle found out about Collins' past? "She doesn't want you here," he growled at her father.

The man smirked and moved closer to the bar, "And maybe I don't like the idea of my baby girl hanging around with a pedophile," he growled quietly. "Baby girl why don't you come home? Like I said, your mama and I miss having you at home." He glanced at the Dixon brothers, "And you'd be in much better company at home."

Daryl growled again and Merle's fists clenched angrily on top of the bar before he turned around, mouth open, ready to give Collins' father a piece of his mind. Collins was there in a second, squeezing in front of Daryl and pushing him back, while at the same time, reaching out to place a calming hand on top of Merle's fist. "Why don't you go?" she asked, turning to glare at her father. "No one wants you here. Daryl's right, I don't want you here and I don't want you to try to talk to me. I never had to tell him anything, he was there the whole time, he saw it. And he was never inappropriate with me. I'm never going back there, because it's not my home, and I'm safer here with the Dixon brothers than I would ever be in that damn house with you." Her father actually had the nerve to look surprised at her. With the exception of a few times during her childhood she had never talked to him like that before. She rolled her eyes, "Oh," she said, shaking her head, "Don't look so surprised, you bastard, you know what you did."

Her father stared at her for a moment as if he couldn't imagine that she would ever talk to him like that. Daryl watched as his eyes hardened and he glared at his daughter for a moment before he turned around and quickly left the bar. The man paused at the door, turing around to look at his daughter one more time. Daryl moved forward and gently pushed Collins out of the way, behind him so that she wasn't in her father's line of sight. When the man finally left Daryl turned back toward Collins with a grin on his face, she had finally stood up to him, finally beaten him. But she didn't look as relieved as he expected. She had moved back to the shelf behind the bar where all the liquor was, her hand was resting on the worn wood, holding her steady. Her other hand was pressed against her stomach and there were tears leaking from her brown eyes and she looked as though she was fighting against a panic attack.

"Okay," Daryl said, his tone soft and soothing. "It's okay, Collins. You're fine!" He moved closer to her and placed his hands on her cheeks, gently forcing her face up so that he could make eye contact with her. "You're okay. You're so strong," he kissed her forehead. "And so brave, you were so brave. You verbally kicked his ass. I'm so proud of you. I am so, so proud of you." He pulled away from her just enough that he could take in her whole face, but he was still holding her, she was shaking, she was afraid. "Shh," he soothed quietly. "You were so brave. And you know what? It's over, you don't ever have to see him again." Daryl had no idea how right he was in that statement.

Collins nodded, a smile slowly making its way onto her face. "You're right," she said with a nod. "I don't have to see him again. Ever. You're right." He watched as her brown eyes, wide with fear flitted around the bar in front of her, looking for her father, looking for any more danger in the room. He waited for the moment when her eyes would land on him and she'd finally realize that the man she had told to stay away from her was there in front of her. It didn't take long, but instead of the anger he expected to see flashing in her eyes all he saw was relief. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, "I missed you," she whispered softly, resting her forehead against his chest. "I knew I would. But I don't think I realized I would miss you just this much." Daryl nodded silently, he had missed the girl too, but he knew she wasn't done yet, he didn't want to interrupt her. "But I'm still mad at you," she whispered. "I'm still so angry at you. I don't know how you could do that to me and I don't think I will ever understand completely." She paused for a moment, but she didn't pull away from the older man. "But I do forgive you," she whispered. "And I want to try," another pause, "to try to be friends again. I need you in my life, Dare."

"I never wanted to leave," Daryl assured her as he pressed another kiss against the top of her head. "And I'm not goin' anywhere." Collins unwrapped one of her arms from around his waist and pulled away enough that she could hold up her pinky between the two of them. Daryl glanced down and chuckled when he saw her pinky. "I pinky promise," he told her, rolling his eyes at her playfully and linking their pinkies for a split second before he pulled her closer to his body again. He turned around, glancing at his brother over his shoulder, "What do you say we get this drunk ass back to his apartment and then we go back to my place and we talk about how were gonna make this work?" Collins nodded, she started to pull away from him, but Daryl shook his head and tucked Collins under his outstretched arm before they walked out from behind the bar.

Collins had always been right. She told him that they didn't make sense without each other and he had never believed her more than he did in this moment.

-.-.-.-.-.-

There was something wrong, that wasn't hard to figure out. She was working the Sunday evening shift, one of her least favorite shifts at the bar because it was the slowest one of the week. This Sunday was different though. The bar was more than slow, it was dead. There were three staff members at the bar - Collins who was working behind the bar, Tony the cook, and the new girl Katie who was too young to work the bar so she had been hired as a waitress. Besides the three staff members there was one other person in the bar, Randy - one of Collins' favorite regulars. It was too quiet and that made Collins nervous. It wasn't just the bar, the whole town was quiet, people were nervous these days. Most of them were too nervous to leave their houses at night, as if the bright sunshine during the day would be enough to ward off any of the dark stories they had been hearing about on the news and the radio. They were far enough away from any big cities that they hadn't seen anything yet, they had only heard stories which seemed more like scary stories kids told at sleepovers than actual events. The town still seemed as safe as ever. Just too quiet. Collins stared at the windows at the front of the bar, watching the sidewalk outside. She jumped, startled when Tony walked toward her from the kitchen.

"You want some fries, Collie?" he asked her as he set the plate of warm fries on the bar top. Collins wanted to say no, she joked that she was watching her figure, but Tony shot her a pointed look as he pushed the plate closer to her, "We all know that french fries are your weakness," he told her as he grabbed a handful of fries for himself. Collins nodded, it was true, and Tony's fries were like crack for her. "That's my girl," Tony said with an approving nod as she reached out for a few of the fries. "I knew you'd come around."

"You want any, Randy?" Collins called down the bar toward the man. Randy shook his head, but he didn't reply verbally. Collins glanced at Tony and raised her eyebrows at the older man. This wasn't like Randy. He was still nursing his first beer, even on a slow Sunday he would normally be on his third beer by now. And he was usually more talkative than this, tonight he was slumped over the bar, his head resting in his hand as he quietly stared out the window at the street. "You okay, Randy?" she asked him softly. She was about to move toward him when Katie saw her.

"Did you pay for those?" the young girl asked, jerking her chin toward the plate of fries on the bar top. Tony and Collins glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. Katie was young and new and she was very worried about breaking the rules. Collins and Tony had been working at the bar for years, they hardly ever worried about the rules anymore. "You're going to get in trouble," Katie continued. "We're not allowed to eat the food. That's for paying customers."

"Yeah," Tony said with a nod, looking around the empty bar. "And who are we going to give them to?" he asked the young girl. "Randy isn't ordering anything. There isn't anyone else here. Frank isn't going to fire us over a plate of french fries on a slow evening. Though he might fire you for being a nosey bitch."

Collins sighed, that had escalated faster than she had expected. "Calm down, would you?" she asked Tony, she placed a restraining hand on his chest before she turned to the young waitress. "Frank is talking about closing this place," she told the girl quietly. "He was talking about it today. At least until all this shit is done, he's not going to mind if we eat some of the food. It's going to go to waste anyway if he closes down." She turned to look at Tony with a smile on her face, "You got any ketchup back there?" she asked him with a smile. Tony nodded and headed back into the kitchen so that he could get the ketchup. Collins watched him for a second before she walked toward the glass windows at the front of the bar, she slowed as she approached Randy, watching him wearily for a moment before she continued to the windows.

"Do you think it's going to get really bad?" Katie asked, following the brunette to the windows and standing next to her with her arms crossed over her chest. "I have a friend in Athens. She told me that they closed down UGA, sent everyone home. People are talking about heading to Atlanta, apparently they're setting up a refugee center up there for people whose towns have been infected. Do you think we're safe here? Or should we try to head to Atlanta? The military's heading there. It's gotta be safer where the military is, right? That's what I think."

"You know what I think?" Collins asked softly. Katie sent the older girl a look that clearly said that she thought Collins was going to tell her to shut her mouth. Collins smiled softly at the girl, "I don't know what to think," she admitted with a shrug. "I wanted to think it was a joke at first. Or drugs like they said in the beginning when that random asshole in Florida ate that guy's face off. But I don't think so. I think this is real. And I don't know what to do. This town seems safe at the moment," Randy scoffed from his seat at the bar, but Collins ignored him, "but I don't know how long that'll last. I figure that I'm going to stay here until it does."

Tony walked out of the kitchen with ketchup, a small radio, and a worried look on his face. The two girls turned around from the window and raised their eyebrows at the man, waiting for him to tell them what he was so worried about. "Listen to this, would you?" Tony asked, putting the radio on the top of the bar and turning it on. "It's weird." All Collins heard was static for half a minute before Tony found a station that they could hear. _The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message ... Normal broadcasting will cease immediately ... This is a civil emergency warning ... do not venture outside your homes ... remain calm ... help is on the way... The Emergency Alert System has been activated ... The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message ..._

It kept repeating itself, it felt eerie. Collins glanced around at the rest of the people at the bar. She made eye contact with Tony and Katie before she glanced at the tense set of Randy's back. They hadn't heard this emergency message before. "When did this start?" she asked Tony, the radio in her car had been playing annoying Top 40 songs that afternoon. This message had to have started after she got to work. Tony shrugged. "The news?" Collins asked, glancing at the small tv at the back corner of the room. "What are they talking about on the news?"

Katie rushed toward the bar where the remote was sitting and she turned the television on. The cable was out, all the major channels were static. Katie quickly turned to channel two, one of the basic channels that you could get by just plugging the television into the wall. The screen was blue, there was no image, but the annoying beep of an emergency broadcast filled the room and the same message sounded from the television. "This is bad isn't it?" Katie asked, turning around to look at Tony and Collins. "This is really bad, right?"

Collins moved forward quickly and grabbed the remote from Katie's hand so that she could turn the television off. This was really bad. Daryl and Merle had been tracking this since the beginning. Collins could still remember sitting on Daryl's couch and laughing as the brothers tracked the infection from one town to another. They never knew where it started or how it started or how it seemed to be occurring all over the country. But they had noticed something, there were commonalities in every town the infection spread to. A few people would get infected, the emergency broadcasts would begin, then shortly after the military would move in and the people would be quarantined. They had been stocking up on gas, weapons, clothes, and food for weeks. (All of Collins' canned goods had somehow made it to Daryl's apartment over the last month or so. The funny thing was that she had never seen him leave her apartment with them.) They had told her that once the emergency broadcasts started they, the three of them, were going to cut out of town and run. She had laughed at them, called them insane even, but now that the broadcasts had started she was thankful for the Dixons' _insanity_. She heard Tony cough behind her and she realized that she was holding the remote unnaturally tight in her hands. She was probably scaring Katie. She forced her fingers to unclench from around the remote and she placed it back down on the bar. She turned slightly and reached out to place a hand on the younger girl's shoulder, she was shaking. "It's not that bad, Katie," she said softly. "You'll see."

Randy scoffed again and Collins sighed. She was getting really tired of the man's quiet sarcasm and judgement. "You don't agree?" Tony asked, turning back to look at the man at the end of the bar. "You got something to say, Randy?"

Randy shrugged, "Not much to say," he muttered, his voice gravely with disuse. "Besides that ya'll have no idea what's about to happen in this town. No idea."

"And you do?" Tony asked, his voice angry again. Collins glanced at him wondering what his deal was. Tony had always been a pretty easy going guy, but today he had been very agitated and angry. She wondered if it was all the stress of what was happening was getting to him and if this was how he dealt with it. He caught the look on her face and she watched as the big man took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Do you?" he asked Randy, his tone was still tense, but he sounded calmer than he had before.

Randy stuck his leg out toward them and pulled up his pants. Collins watched in horror, wondering how she hadn't noticed the reddish brown stain on his pants that could've been only one thing. Randy pulled his pants up to his knee, just high enough that the three staff members could see the large bite that had been taken out of his leg. Katie screamed when she realized that she could see his bone. Collins wondered how he had been walking around on his leg with it like that. She must have verbalized her question because Randy shrugged, "I can't go to the hospital with this, and I sure as hell ain't waiting at home for the military to come get me," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Collins didn't even want to ask why. All she knew was that according to Daryl and Merle there was only one thing that could be done for Randy now. Her eyes darted around the bar, lighting on the place where the gun was stored, she wondered if she would be able to do it. She had known Randy for years. Could she do it?

She shook her head, she couldn't do it. She moved closer to Randy and placed a hand on his shoulder, she was in the middle of gently suggesting that the older man go back home when the door to the bar opened and Daryl walked in. Collins was sure that she had never been so happy to see him in her entire life. She was about to tell him that, to tell him what she thought was wrong with Randy, but judging by the look in her friend's blue eyes he already knew. "Get away from him, Collins," Daryl ordered in a flat voice, his hand fumbling with something behind his back. Collins squeezed Randy's shoulder for a moment before she pulled away from him. Daryl didn't wait long, Collins might have gotten three steps away from the man, but no more, before Daryl pulled out a gun and shot Randy in the head.

Randy's blood splattered across Collins' face and she may have screamed. She didn't know, couldn't recognize her own voice. Behind her Katie fainted.

* * *

Author's Note:  
**Important news: Starting in the next chapter, time won't be jumping forward anymore. I tried to keep that going, but with where this chapter ended I feel like it would be rude and mean to jump forward a year or something. Plus it would kind of be like cheating. So yeah.**  
And for those of you who don't read AWASG I need to apologize for my long, unannounced hiatus.  
Work and school and wedding plans kept getting in the way and I could barely find time to sleep or think, let alone log on here and post a chapter.  
But I'm back now and I don't plan on disappearing again, at least not until this story is finished.  
So yup, big thanks to all of you who have stuck with this story and been waiting patiently for me to come back.  
Special thanks goes to: _BloodMoonWanes, CaineSpeedle, DaRk-SnOw-FlOwEr24, EmpressBlack, PeaceLoveUnicorns94, Rea Josette, ThornRose16, Wondering Alice, otte1978, sdxdoll, zaii, DarylDixonsWife, HerAngrierGnome, harley001, kaarakoi, xXMegers17Xx, whosegirl, hannahmom16, Micky-Moo, eh089614, _and _LiliAnn Jackson_ who added this story to their **Favorites List**.  
And to: _BloodMoonWanes, CaineSpeedle, DaRk-SnOw-FlOwEr24, EmpressBlack, Falwynn, Mo1869, MonkeysGoBoo, Rea Josette, ThornRose16, otte1978, zaii, Dear Reader - We're book addicts, Miss Bear, DarylDixonsWife, xXMegers17Xx, ChooseJoy, hannahmom16, Micky-Moo, eh089614, SpnSwtHrt, _and _LiliAnn Jackson_ who added this story to their **Alerts List**.  
But as always the **BIGGEST** of **SPECIAL THANKS** goes to those of you who **REVIEWED** on the last chapter:  
**Maddy120296:** Oh don't hate Daryl! Even I don't hate him. And he's trying to fix things in this chapter. He just got nervous and didn't know what to do.  
**poppins29:** You don't really hate him! You just think you do. But the fact that I could make you hate the man is amazing! I must be a good writer! (Just kidding.)  
**CaineSpeedle: **Thank you so much for your review! I loved reading it! And I am so happy that I was able to entertain you so far. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as you enjoyed the previous five. And I'm so excited that you think I'm able to bring these emotions and characters to life. (Is it okay that I'm also happy I was able to make you cry just from my writing? That's big news for me!)  
**otte1978: **Welcome! I'm so glad that you found this story! And I'm so glad you've been enjoying it so far. Don't worry, Daryl will definitely be able to redeem himself. You'll see.  
**Lady of Sign: **Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far and I hope that you liked this chapter too!  
**Dhalia89: **I have writing skills! Seriously your review is my favorite kind of review. When I get a reader who's like "I love Daryl" or "I hate Merle" and then they tell me that I made them see that character in a different light ... I get goosebumps. The good news is that I like Daryl too much to make you guys almost hate him for long. Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**WhiskeyHandz: **I loved your review too! And I'm glad that you love Collins for staying strong. A lot of reviews have been like, "I'd hate Daryl if Daryl said that to me. Why doesn't Collins?" And I'm like ... Daryl has been part of her life for almost as long as she can remember. Collins doesn't know how to hate him. But people don't seem to get that.  
And Collins didn't break Merle's nose in this chapter, or even hit him, but she did lay a verbal smack down on him which I think is a close second.  
And hopefully you haven't disappeared when I was on my hiatus because I would love to marry you too ... though we'd have to ask my fiance if he's cool with the idea. :p  
**Rea Josette: **Well I'm so glad you found us and I'm sorry that it took me twenty days to update! But I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too!  
**shelockian2205: **Thank you for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter even though you didn't get your wish. It was always the plan that Daryl would find her and get her out of town when the Walkers came. Though ... making no promises there might be a story in the works about Daryl meeting up with a friend from his past well into the Z.A. I might have been up late last night making an outline for it ...  
**zaii: **I'm glad you're loving this story dear and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well.  
**Malachite16819: **Well now that the zombies are here I don't know how much happy there will be, but I promise it won't be as sad. At least not for a little bit...  
**MonkeysGoBoo: **I love you for loving this story! Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too!  
**RachelNicole523: **Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make people cry! I wanted them to be angry! Well I hope I fixed it a little bit with this chapter! No tears okay? Okay! I hope you liked this chapter!  
**Callalily8: **Well then, I hope you loved this chapter more than all the chapters before it! Thank you so much for your review dear! (And your compliment ... it seriously makes me grin when people tell me that I write a believable Daryl because I'm always so worried about that.) And don't worry, it wasn't weird. I couldn't wait for the Walkers either.  
**Miss Bear: **Not a lot of interaction with Merle in this chapter, but there will be some in the chapters coming up. Also, hello new reviewer! And welcome! I'm so glad that you are enjoying this story and my version of Daryl. Maybe I should post my favorite reviews of this story on tumblr to get more interest. Your with its, "I love your Daryl in this, right balance off rough and soft." Would definitely be there! Thank you so much!  
**Leyshla Gisel: **You are the first reviewer who has admitted to understanding why I had Daryl cheat! Yay! I'm glad you're not mad at me and I hope that you're still around to read the rest of the story. :D  
**DarylDixonsWife: **Thank you! I really loved reading your review! It made me flail around and grin. Thank you so much! I'm very happy that you're enjoying this story as much as AWASG and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as the other ones! Thank you again!  
**JoleneXP:** The first chapter was pretty adorable wasn't it? Thank you so much! I hope that you've enjoyed the rest of the story as well!  
**Fan: **Oh! You knew it was going to be bad as soon as you read, "It was Christmas Day," I'm sorry! But let's be honest, it was going to come crashing down around him sooner or later! I hope that this chapter didn't make you cry! I tried to fix it for everybody! Thank you so much for your review and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
**xXMegers17Xx: **Aww! Thank you so much! My favorite readers are the ones that are reading both of my Walking Dead stories. At first I was worried about writing two stories at the same time because I was worried that they would be similar, but these two have such very different premises and I'm really happy about them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! And thank you again!  
**Asalija:** You cheated! You read the review first and then read the story! That's it ... not giving anymore hints about what happened in the new chapter in the reviews. No more! But yes, I know how to be a cruel writer ... you'll see that very soon! (In both stories ... dun dun dun DUN!) I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter ... even if I am cruel and I hope that you liked this chapter as well!  
**Whosegirl:** No! No! No crying into your cardigan sleeves because you love it so much! (Although I'm thrilled that you do love it so much!) I'm glad that you're enjoying this story and my portrayal of Daryl and Collins. (To be honest I wish Collins could be my best friend too. I think it'd be pretty cool!) And you caught onto the title of the story ... congratulations, you are the first reviewer who has brought that up. I was wondering if someone would catch it...  
**eh089614: **You read both of them in a day and a half? Woah! I think I might love you! Thank you so much for reading, for continuing to read, and then for reviewing! You're amazing and I'm so glad that you've enjoyed this story so far. Hopefully you loved this chapter too!  
**SpnSwtHrt: **You just found the story? Well thank you for finding it, reading it, and then reviewing! I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!  
**layla: **I'm back now dear! I'm so sorry for leaving you!  
Whew that took a while and I loved it!  
Thank you guys so much! I should be back no later than next Wednesday with a new chapter.  
Until then, happy reading!  
Hugs and kisses,  
Chloe Jane.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any recognizable characters. I wish I did though, Daryl Dixon/Norman Reedus and I would have some fun if I did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Welp this is embarrassing:  
A few of you have asked me to check out your stories on this site and to tell you what I think about them. And while I've agreed to look into a few of them, I'm generally cautious about it. When I'm writing a story for a fandom I tend to avoid reading stories from their fandom so that there's no accidental spill over from a story I've read into one of mine. This might have happened with "If I Die Young". I don't remember reading BeingLolaStar's story "A Million Reasons Why" but there are some similarities (especially in chapter three). And I've talked it over with BeingLolaStar and while there was no purposeful plagiarism there are enough similarities to make us nervous. So I'm going to put this disclaimer here stating that parts of her story are head cannon for mine. And if any of you guys are interested in her story, go read it! It's amazing.**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just a reminder:  
1. I'm playing around with Daryl's age a bit in this. In the show Daryl's in his early to mid 40s when the zombie apocalypse happens. In this story he's going to be thirty-six.  
2. There will be ten chapters in this story. (No more, no less.) But they will be long chapters, ten pages each. So by the time this story is done you guys will have read one hundred pages about Daryl and Collins.  
3. This story is going to have its good and happy moments. But it is not going to be a particularly happy story.  
4. There will be mentions and descriptions of **domestic violence**. If that is a **trigger** for you (**then you're probably not a fan of Daryl Dixon and probably aren't reading this story**) but here's the warning just in case.  
5. Reviews are like air. I love them.

And if anyone's still reading this ... here's the 7th chapter:  
(We're in the home stretch ladies and gentlemen)

* * *

Daryl was in front of her a moment later, he pulled a red rag out of his pocket and held the back of her head in one hand while he used the one holding the rag to wipe the blood off her face. Collins could smell the oil and gasoline coming from the rag and she briefly wondered if she was going to have oil on her face now. It wasn't a big concern, she'd rather have oil on her face than blood. "You have to stop screaming," he hissed at her as he continued to wipe her face. His voice wasn't as flat as before, there was compassion in it now, he understood why she was screaming and he was sorry for it. But he was worried, impatient, they needed to leave and in order for that to happen Collins was going to have to calm down and stop screaming. "Collins," he hissed, "you need to stop." She nodded, but she couldn't. "Pretty girl," Daryl said softly, calling her the name he hadn't called her since the night her father had showed up at the bar. And it worked, the nickname calmed her down instantly. Her brown eyes were still wide and scared and they kept flitting over to Randy's body which was now slumped against the bar, a bloody, gory hole in the back of his head. "I had to do it," Daryl whispered as he pulled Collins' slight form into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I had to do it, Collins."

"Why?" Collins asked, trying to push away from Daryl. She caught the look on his face and she shook her head, "I mean, I know why you did it. I thought about doing it. But why? He was still alive. He could have just gone home. Why didn't you let him just go home?"

"What home?" Daryl asked. "His wife and children had turned. Who do you think bit him? Why do you think that damn warning is on the radio? Because of his family. He was infected and it was only a matter of time before they found him. And if you were around him when they did," he paused for a moment before he shook his head, as if the idea was too disturbing, "we're lucky I found you first," he told her. "Now let's go, they're sure to have heard the gunshot and you screamin' like that."

"They?" Tony asked softly from behind the girl and her friend. Collins started, she had forgotten that Tony was even in the room.

"The military," Daryl told him, watching the man over his friend's head. "They rolled into town an hour ago." Collins turned her head so that she could look at the cook over her shoulder, Tony's eyes widened and he looked out the door over Daryl's shoulder. "I'd go find your family," Daryl told him quietly. Tony glanced back at Collins, silently asking the girl if he was allowed to leave her. Collins was touched at his moment of hesitation and she nodded, silently telling him that it was okay to leave her with Daryl. She would be safe.

"Take care of yourself," the tall cook told her before he started to move toward the door. He paused for just a moment beside the pair. "Take care of her," he told Daryl, his eyes darting to the small girl still wrapped in the redneck's arms. "You know," he added with a cynical chuckle and a shake of his head, "I never really liked you. Thought she was kind of slumming it with you." Collins made an angry noise in the back of her throat, she wasn't touched anymore, simply angry. If Tony knew how much Daryl worried about that fact, how down on himself the man was the cook wouldn't be saying this to him. Tony held up a calming hand in Collins' direction for a moment, "But now," he said softly, "I wouldn't trust anyone else to take care of her. You're all right, Dixon."

Daryl nodded, unable to say much of anything to the man. He jerked his chin toward the door, silently telling the man to go find his family. With one final glance at the pair and the girl passed out on the floor Tony left. Daryl pulled away from Collins despite the noise of protest that rose in her throat and shut the door behind the man and locked it. "The gun's still behind the bar?" he asked. Collins nodded. "Get it," he told her, "and any ammunition you can find. My truck's out back." Collins nodded silently again and quickly moved around the bar so that she could grab the gun. Frank had upgraded since the last time she had needed the gun; she placed the automatic rifle and a box of shells on the bar top, Daryl had expected that, but next to the rifle she placed a model 9C1 and its magazines. Daryl raised his eyebrows at the guns, Collins shrugged. He smiled at her and grabbed the box of shells, emptying them into his pocket. He loaded two of the magazines into the small 9 mm handgun and handed it to Collins as he pocketed the extra magazines, "That one is for you," he told her softly. "We'll get out of town, somewhere in the woods and get some practice in for you. Can't have you runnin' around wasting bullets and not hittin' where you're aiming." He glanced around the bar to see if they were missing anything, "You ready?" he asked the girl.

"I could use a shot before we go," Collins joked, her voice shaky. Daryl sent her a look that clearly said he didn't find the joke remotely funny. He knew this was all hard for the young girl to accept everything that had happened, but he couldn't have her drunk - not tonight. It was too important for them to get out of town for her to be drunk. She nodded, she knew what that look meant. "I was just kidding," she said softly before she glanced to the young girl on the floor. "We can't leave her here," she told her friend. "We have to take her with us." Daryl nodded, he had almost expected this. Collins had never particularly liked the blonde waitress, but she would never leave her alone in the bar and vulnerable. He handed his small friend the rifle and stooped to the ground to pick up the unconscious girl. "Thank you," Collins whispered as she followed him through the kitchen to the back door.

"Doors are unlocked," Daryl told her, getting straight to the point. They had wasted enough time in the bar. Someone would have heard the shot and Daryl would rather be far away from the bar when they came to investigate. "It's parked as close to the door as I could get. I'm gonna go first, get her in the car, you try to cover me in case something happens. Once she's in the truck you're gonna get in. Through the driver's side, just slide into the middle seat. Then I'll get in and we're going. Last chance, you're sure we have everything." Collins nodded as she asked him where they were going to go. Daryl shook his head, "We'll talk about that in the car," he told her before he nodded at the door, "Let's go."

They managed to get into the truck with very little trouble, Collins followed Daryl's instructions to the letter, Daryl was proud of her. He locked the truck doors as soon as they were all in it and he started the truck. The emergency alert system started up immediately. _Do not venture outside your homes ... remain calm ... help is on the way... The Emergency Alert System has been activated ... The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message ..._ _Normal broadcasting will cease immediately ... This is a civil emergency warning ... do not venture outside your homes ... remain calm ... help is on the way... The Emergency Alert System has been activated ... The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message ... _Collins reached forward and shut the radio off with an angry jab of her finger. "So where are we going?" she asked him.

"Your apartment," Daryl said softly, glancing at the small brunette. "For a bit anyway. Merle gave me thirty minutes to get you and help you get your stuff before he meets us at your apartment. By the time we get there, we'll probably only have about ten minutes. So pack quickly and only what you need, Merle's not gonna wait for you." Collins nodded and asked, her tone surprised, why Daryl acted as though they were going to leave town. "Because we are," Daryl told her sternly. "We're getting the hell out of this town."

"But if the military's here, it's gotta be the safest place to be," Collins told him quietly. "Safer than anything besides Atlanta right? Shouldn't we stay here?" Daryl shook his head and muttered something about not trusting the military. Collins didn't understand that, she trusted the military, but she trusted Daryl more. And if Daryl said that it was safer to leave town then she would be leaving with him. She leaned her head against his shoulder, "I never said thank you," she breathed quietly, "for coming for me, I mean. So thank you, Dare."

Daryl shrugged and forced a smile on his lips, this was familiar, "Hey," he said with a warm chuckle, "we always said that when we left town we'd be doing it together. I'm just keepin' my promise." Collins smiled up at him and despite the situation and everything she had just seen, in that moment, she felt safe. She told him this and Daryl chuckled again, "Don't tell Kevin Light that," he warned, "he always said that the redneck was going to get you killed one day."

"Yeah?" Collins asked with a shrug and wide eyes, "well, that's kind of amusing, considering that Kevin Light didn't come to the bar to save me, you did."

They remained quiet for the rest of the ride to her apartment, there was nothing left to be said. They left Katie in the truck as the two of them rushed into her building and up to her room. Her apartment building was like the rest of the town, too quiet. No one was moving around in the hallway and even though Collins listened carefully she could not hear any voices in the apartments. By now everyone in town had probably heard the emergency announcements either on their television or radio and they were probably holed up in the back rooms of their apartments or houses waiting for the help that was promised. Daryl didn't seem to think that the help was coming as he pushed Collins toward her apartment, cursing at the stupidity of the people in their town. Collins struggled with the door, she couldn't seem to get the right key, Daryl sighed and gently pulled the keys from her hands and unlocked the door for her. He told her that she had ten minutes to pack up. She didn't bother with anything in her small kitchen, Daryl and Merle had already kidnapped all of the food that wouldn't spoil. She moved straight toward her bedroom, Daryl following close behind her, and she grabbed a large backpack. Daryl raised his eyebrows at that, Collins had always been a notoriously heavy packer, he wasn't sure that everything was going to fit in her back. Collins shrugged, she was determined to fit everything she needed in that bag, if it didn't fit she wasn't going to take it. They were going to be on the run, Daryl hadn't said it, but Collins knew it. And she wasn't going to let Merle have the satisfaction of making fun of her for bringing too much stuff and she wasn't going to make Daryl carry it. If she couldn't carry it on her own it wasn't coming.

She folded up several pairs of pants and a few pairs of shorts in the bag, a belt or two, several sweatshirts and as many short sleeved and long sleeved shirts as she could find. She ran into her bathroom and grabbed her toothbrush and an unopened tube of toothpaste. She heard Daryl snort at her, but she also knew that he probably had a tooth brush hidden somewhere in his stuff that was already loaded in the bed of the truck. She grabbed some soap and the three clean wash cloths and a towel she had in her bathroom. "Do you have toilet paper in your truck?" she asked him, it would be just like the Dixon brothers to pack everything they needed for an apocalypse type situation besides basic hygiene products. Daryl told her that they had some, but she threw him the bag with twelve rolls that she had anyway, in her opinion they would never have enough toilet paper. "Take it anyway," she muttered before she moved back into the room. There was still some room in her bag so she threw some of her favorite books in the bag, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, and a Nicholas Sparks book made their way into the bag. She zipped it up, she was ready, there wasn't much else in the apartment worth taking. She quickly switched her flip flops for a pair of combat boots she had bought online once, they were big and comfortable and had steel toes, Daryl nodded approvingly at her choice. She shouldered the bag and looked around the apartment one more time, sure this was the last time that she was going to see it. She darted toward her dresser and grabbed some hair ties and nodded toward the door. She stopped one more time on the way out of the room to grab a few pictures that had been taped around the edge of her mirror, pictures of her and Daryl throughout the years of their friendship and then she was ready to go.

Daryl chuckled when he noticed the pictures in her hands, but he didn't say anything to her. He couldn't really say anything to her, he had taken their picture from the lake with him so he had no right to laugh at her. They walked quietly out of the apartment building and Daryl and Collins both laughed when they saw Merle standing beside Daryl's truck with an impatient look on his face. "Did you know that you have a girl passed out in your truck?" Merle asked his brother, jerking his thumb at the truck behind him. "Did ya roofie a girl, Darlina?" he asked his little brother before he turned slightly and his eyes landed on Collins, "Hey Brown Eyes," he said, his tone playful though his eyes were tense as they looked around the parking lot, trying to catch sight of something or someone, looking for someone who was following them. "You know you got oil on your face right?" he moved forward, sticking his thumb in his mouth for a moment and wetting the pad of it with his tongue before he used it to swipe at the most prominent oil streak, a thick one on the girl's forehead, just above her right eye. "That's better," he said with a smirk as Collins jerked her head away from him and his thumb, a look of disgust on her face. "Easy there, Barbie," Merle chortled, "I might rethink letting you come with us if you hurt my feelings."

"There's no way that she's not coming," Daryl muttered as he slung his arm across the girl's shoulders and gave her a not so subtle push toward his truck. "Besides, barbie is blonde, not brunette." That had Collins laughing until they had gotten into his truck and started driving again, some people might have been worried about running away from town with the Dixon brothers, but as she watched Merle climb on his bike in the rearview mirror Collins figured that it wouldn't be so bad. She wouldn't trust anyone else to keep her safe.

-.-.-.-.-

It took them almost four hours to get out of town, while Daryl had gone to get her Merle had ridden his bike around town, looking for ways out. The military had shut down and barricaded most of the main roads in and out of town so they had to use the small back roads, which would take longer on their own even if Merle hadn't insisted on driving without the truck headlights on and pulling off the roads into the woods every time they saw a car. During normal circumstances Collins would have made fun of Merle for his paranoia, but part of her thought that this time it might save her life. She didn't argue or say a word about it. She also didn't argue with Katie woke up and demanded to be brought to her parents' house. Collins didn't think it was a good idea, and judging by the look Daryl sent her he didn't think it was a good one either, but they didn't argue. Daryl just asked her where she lived and they took a detour to drop her off at the house. Collins felt like it was an even worse idea when they pulled up in front of the house, but Katie had made up her mind. Collins looked out the window, the front door of the house was wide open and there was a dark stain on the white doorframe, it looked like blood. "Maybe you should stay with us," Collins whispered to the younger blonde, "I don't think your house is safe."

"Well I'm not leaving town without my parents," Katie said, shooting a glare at the older girl. "Just because your daddy was a bastard who hit you and you don't care about him doesn't mean everyone's parents are like that. I'm not leaving without them." She quickly let herself out of the truck before Collins could say anything in response to her attack.

"It's okay," Daryl said softly from the brunette's other side. "Bitch don't know what she's talking about," he comforted. "Forget about it." Collins nodded, she was going to listen to him. She slid across the seat so that she could shut the door and they could leave, but before she got the door shut she heard Katie scream again from inside the house. Without pausing to think Collins grabbed the small gun from the bar and jumped out of the truck. Daryl yelled after her, trying to get her to come back, but she was gone. She knew that this was going to be bad, but there was no way that she could ignore the young woman's scream and just drive away. "Collins!" Daryl yelled after her, "Get your ass back here!" She didn't even turn around. Daryl cursed to himself as he got out of the truck and followed his friend toward the house.

Katie was easy enough for Collins to find. The girl was in the living room, crouched behind the couch and still screaming. At first Collins didn't know what the girl was screaming about, but then she saw it, a tall man was moving toward the blonde from the front of the couch. Bits of flesh and muscle were hanging from a bloody bite mark in his cheek. This was it, Collins realized, this is what everyone was so afraid of, this is what the infected must have looked like. Judging by the amount of blood the man should have been dead, but instead he was up and moving, a film clouding his eyes. "Katie," she hissed, catching the girl's attention. "Come over here. We'll go. Come on!" The girl looked at her with wide, terrified eyes before she crouched and started to run toward her, Collins backed toward the door as she caught the man's attention and she fumbled with the handgun as she tried to aim it at him. She was glad that Daryl had already loaded the bullets in it, she wouldn't have been able to manage that. The man started to stagger toward her, and Collins watched in horror as more bite marks became visible on his arms and legs and stomach. She finally got the gun aimed in the right direction and she pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. She tried a few more times, but the gun never fired. She didn't drop it, she knew Daryl and Merle would be mad at her if she lost one of the guns, but she realized it was useless and she started to run. Her hand was outstretched behind her and she breathed a sigh of relief when Katie caught onto it and she started to run faster, pulling the blonde behind her.

They had just made it out of the house and Collins felt even more relief when she caught sight of Daryl. They were safe now, Daryl would take care of them. She watched as his face morphed into a horrified look, that was her first clue that something was about to go wrong. She felt the tug before she realized what was happening. The infected person, the person that should have been dead, had grabbed onto Katie and was pulling the younger woman out of Collins' grasp. She turned around just in time to see the man sink his teeth into Katie's neck as the blonde screamed. Katie jerked on Collins' hand, trying to pull the brunette closer to her, silently asking for help. "Let go of her!" Daryl yelled to Collins. "Collins! Let go of her! Don't let her drag you down! She's dead! Let's go!"

It broke Collins' heart to do it. The girl was still alive, she could see the frightened look in the blonde's eyes. She was scared to death and Collins was trying to pull away from her. She looked away, her eyes on the monster that was still attacking Katie as she wrenched her hand free and started to run toward Daryl and the truck. Daryl waited on the passenger side until Collins was in the truck, he shut the door and quickly moved toward the driver's side. It was only after both doors were shut and she could no longer hear Katie's screams that she realized that for the second time that night she had someone else's blood on her face. "The damn gun didn't work," she muttered as she threw the small handgun at Daryl and turned away from the man. "It didn't work. This would never have happened if the gun worked!"

Daryl took a moment to inspect the gun before he shook his head and put the truck in drive again so that they could get away from the house. "Its safety was on," he told her, not exactly laughing at his friend, but finding the situation a bit funny. "If you had known anything about guns you would have known that." Collins shot a glare at her friend and sarcastically apologized for not knowing a thing about guns. Daryl shrugged, "Besides," he added as he turned down the road that would take them out of town, he hoped that Collins wouldn't notice the street sign right away, what she had just seen was traumatic enough, "You would have been just fine if you had just stayed in the damn truck like I told you to."

"I'm sorry," Collins bit back, the sarcasm practically dripping from her voice, "I'm not as cold and calloused as the Dixon boys apparently. I can't just sit back and let someone get themselves killed."

"God damnit!" Daryl yelled angrily, his anger finally making its way to the surface. "I could have lost you! Don't you get it? I cared about that girl, I felt bad for her and if you hadn't been countin' on me I would have gone after her! But if given the choice between keeping you safe and saving fifteen other people, twenty other people, a hundred other people - it doesn't matter, I'm always goin' to choose you! I will always choose you, doesn't matter what else is at stake. I will always save you." Collins watched him, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open slightly, in awe of the man beside her. She couldn't yell at him anymore because she felt the same way about him. She was still angry, still hurting over what she had just seen, just done, but she couldn't be angry at Daryl anymore. Silently she reached out and grabbed Daryl's hand. They wouldn't be able to hold hands for long, he'd need it to shift gears, but it was the thought that counted. Daryl looked at her and nodded, squeezing her hand softly, before he pulled away.

They drove in silence for about fifteen minutes until Collins began to realize that their surroundings looked familiar. Daryl pulled to a stop in front of a house, there were no other houses around the small house and a familiar field lay behind it. Daryl turned to look at the brunette, studying her for a moment, before he spoke. "Is there anyone else you need to get before we leave town?" he asked her, his voice nothing more than a whisper.

Collins stared at the house in front of her, her eyes lighted on the tire swing that Daryl had hung for her one summer, the stone under the large tree in the front yard that marked where they had buried Francis after he died, the shiny numbers nailed next to the door that advertised the house as number 1556. The lights were on in the house and if Collins watched the large living room window she could make out the movement of people through the filmy curtains. She could hear Merle yelling at her and Daryl from behind them. He didn't know why they had stopped, but he didn't like it. Collins glanced at Daryl with wide eyes, she knew why they had stopped. He was giving her a chance to forgive her parents, to save them despite what they had done to her. She turned back to the house, watching it for another minute before she shook her head, "No," she whispered back to him. "There's no one else I need to get." Daryl stared at her for another moment before he nodded and started to drive again.

-.-.-.-.-

They had been on the road for two weeks and Collins had to admit that even she was getting irritated with that fact. Merle had been an asshole for the better part of the last week and the brunette was finding it harder to bite her tongue and not yell at the stubborn redneck. Daryl, bless his heart, was still able to read his friend as well as ever and he could always tell when she was about to blow up at his brother. He never told her to keep her mouth shut, he would simply suggest that the girl do something else - the suggestions varied from finding water to cleaning the guns to skinning the animals that he or Merle had brought back after hunting. It was working for now, but Collins knew that at some point Daryl wouldn't be around to gently suggest that she do something else and when that time came she would snap at Merle and probably earn herself a slap across the face for her effort.

It seemed that Merle's biggest problem with her being there was that she messed everything up between him and Daryl. It wasn't that Merle was excited to be on the road, running from zombies, but this was his element, he was good at this. And so was Daryl. The Dixon brothers were made for this world. And this was the closest Merle got to happy memories with his brother, the two of them on the road together, hunting together, being together all of the time was like the good old days for him. But Collins ruined that, it wasn't that the girl wasn't useful - even Merle would have to admit that it was nice having her around some of the time, but because of her he never got to hunt with his brother. Daryl insisted the only one person go hunting at a time because Collins wasn't used to it like he and Merle were - she couldn't go with them, and Daryl wasn't about to leave her alone at the truck unprotected. When Merle left Daryl and Collins to go hunting the two of them would find something to do to pass the time, whether that was having sex or just talking the two of them did something. When Daryl went hunting and he left Merle and Collins together Merle called it babysitting duty.

Today had been one of those days. Daryl had left shortly after breakfast to go hunting and he hadn't gotten back until after dark. When he got back to the small, makeshift camp Collins and Merle weren't speaking to each other. He asked what had gone wrong, hoping that it wasn't anything too big. He really didn't want to be caught in between his brother and his best friend. "I'll tell you what's wrong," Merle growled at his younger brother. "You left me alone all day babysittin' your bitch. That ain't my job. And what made her think she has the right to tell me how to live my life?"

"I didn't try to tell you how to live your life!" Collins pointed out angrily, turning from her spot on the tailgate of the truck to glare at the older Dixon. "Although, I could give you some pointers. Up until this point, your life has been pretty pathetic. All I did was make a suggestion that you take a bath in the creek. You smell like a pig and I'm sick of it."

"My life's pathetic?" Merle asked the young brunette. "You wanna run that by me again, Sweetheart?"

"Sure," Collins said with a nod. "Let's start with how old were you the first time you got sent to juvie? Twelve? And you've been in and out ever since. You have spent more time behind bars than you ever have as a free man. And yet you can't get it through your thick, dumb, redneck skull to stop doing drugs, getting drunk, and getting in fights. Every time you got out of prison I found myself surprised that you hadn't gotten stabbed to death while you were in there. You never did learn when to shut your mouth! And while we're on the subject of drugs, why did you think it was a good idea to bring cocaine with you when you ran away from home because there are zombies? You are going to get Daryl and me killed one day because Walkers are going to attack us and you're going to be too drugged to take care of yourself. And don't get me started on how many times you've stuck your dick into a STD carrying whore. I can't count the number of times Daryl's told me that you have the clap again. Grow the fuck up." Daryl had considered clapping his hand over her mouth to keep her from speaking, there were several points during her speech when his hand was itching to do it, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. If Collins didn't get her little blow up out in the open it would just simmer underneath her skin until the next time she and Merle were left alone and then it would be ten times worse. He could already see her calming down as he chest heaved with the effort it took for her to get the whole speech out. "I'm sorry," she said softly and for a surprising moment Daryl thought his friend was apologizing for what she had said about Merle. "It wasn't nice of me to judge the women," she said. "Maybe they weren't whores, maybe they were just too drunk and stupid to realize that even you weren't worth their time."

Merle was quiet for a moment, studying the brunette in front of him and Daryl dared to allow himself to hope that Merle wouldn't say anything in response. That he would just laugh the small girl's speech off, treat it like a joke, and the two could get back to their timid friendship again. Because they didn't hate each other, Daryl knew that much. Collins worried about Merle when he went hunting alone and Daryl had caught her eyes flashing to the rearview mirror while they were driving to make sure that Merle was okay on his bike. And Daryl could still remember the time Merle had come back from the bar and tore him a new asshole after he had found out that not only had Collins been abused as a child, but that Daryl had cheated on her even though they were no longer simply fuck buddies. So they cared about each other and Daryl could only hope that Merle would remember that when he finally decided to talk.

The older Dixon nodded, his eyes never leaving Collins' face. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "I can see how all of that would make a college princess like you think that I'm pathetic. But I gotta say, when it comes to being pathetic, you take the cake, Sugar Tits." Collins raised her eyebrows, silently asking Merle what he meant, Daryl lifted his hand up to his mouth and bit the side of his thumb, a nervous habit he had picked up a few years ago, as he prayed to a God he wasn't sure was there that Merle would keep his big mouth closed. "How long you been hung up on my baby brother?" Merle asked, his voice taunting. "You've known him for more than twenty years and been in love with him for about ten. He wouldn't touch you until you were legal and even then you had to get him drunk first." Daryl made a noise of protest, that hadn't been how it had happened exactly, but Merle ignored him. "And even then he didn't want you as a girlfriend. So you settled for fuck buddies for how many years was it? Seven? Yeah," he said with a nod when he realized that Collins was surprised that he knew so much about their relationship. "Darlina sent me letters when I was behind bars. I know my shit. Then you finally get him to commit to you and he gets scared and cheats on you. I almost had respect for you when you broke it off with him. But you didn't move on, you didn't screw anyone else when you were single. You kept a distance from men and waited for Daryl. And then, you take him back. Now I don't have no college degree, and I don't have no dictionary. But I'm sure that you and what you've done, how you've lived your life, is the very definition of _pathetic_."

Collins stared at Merle for a full minute, silently worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and Daryl felt his heart break when he realized that there were tears welling in her brown eyes. She inhaled sharply and tried to blink the tears out of her eyes as she nodded, "You're right," she said with a sigh. "I am pathetic. Thank you so much for pointing it out. And by the way, fuck you." She jumped off the tailgate of the truck and marched toward the woods. Daryl tried to reach out to stop her, but she shoved his hands away, "Don't you fucking touch me," she hissed at him before she reached the tree line and disappeared. Daryl wanted to go after her, but she wouldn't like that and she was smart enough to know not to go too far away from their camp. She was better with the gun now, and the knife, and Daryl made her carry both of them at all times, she'd be okay. She'd be safe for a few minutes on her own.

"Oh come on, Sweetheart!" Merle called after her retreating form. "If you can't take it, don't dish it out. You know I was just kidding with you!" Daryl shook his head and quietly glared at his brother. "Not you too, Darlina," Merle chided jokingly. "You know she deserved it."

"She didn't deserve that," Daryl growled at his idiot, older brother. "That was a low blow, Merle, even for you." He paused for another moment, glaring at his brother for a bit more before he turned around and followed Collins into the woods so that he could help her calm down and bring her back. It took him a bit longer to find her than he expected, she had moved faster than he expected, gotten further, but he was a good tracker, it didn't take him too long. The only moment that had caused him any concern was when he noticed a second set of tracks - larger prints, a dragging leg. It could only be a Walker. He hadn't heard her scream, had it snuck up on her? Gotten her from behind before she had the chance to scream? He didn't need to worry, he found her about ten yards in front of where he noticed the second set of tracks. She was sitting on a boulder, her arms wrapped around her knees, staring down at the town below her. The Walker body was laying on the ground just behind the rock, her hunting knife sticking out of the Walker's forehead.

Daryl moved forward and wrenched the knife out of the Walker's skull. He wiped the brown, rotted blood off in the grass and moved around the rock so that he could hand it to the younger girl. There were no more tears in her eyes when she glanced at him and nodded her thanks before turning back down at the town in front of them. The three of them had been on the run for two weeks, but they still hadn't broken away from their town. Every direction they tried had caused problems; roads had been blocked by traffic, there were police barricades, no safe places to hide, and though Daryl would never admit it to his brother - he wanted to stay close to the town. For when they finally figured out what was going on and the military took care of the Walkers, Daryl didn't want to be in the middle of nowhere when that happened. Besides, being near their town seemed to make Collins feel safer.

Daryl came to stand directly behind his friend and watched her as she watched their town. It was mostly dark, the government or the Walkers had shut down the power the week before and with the exception of the military vehicles and camp there were only a few houses that had power because of their backup generators. "Something's happening," Collins whispered quietly, nodding down at the town in front of them. They were an odd distance away from the town; they couldn't see people, but they could see cars - they couldn't hear people speaking, but they could hear them scream. Daryl asked her why she thought that and the brunette pointed to the military trucks that were driving down the main roads in their town in silent rows, every once in a while a few trucks would veer off the main road into a neighborhood. "Have you noticed that when the military came and quarantined the town they never came in?" she asked him. "They stayed outside the town, they kept people from getting in or out, but they never went in. Why are they driving through town now? After dark?"

"Maybe the government's finally figured out what's going on," Daryl suggested, his tone a bit hopeful. "Maybe they're going house to house to tell the people that this nightmare's almost done. That'll be safe soon." Collins glanced behind her for a moment, her eyebrows raised as she stared pointedly at the Walker she had killed. "Right," Daryl said with a nod as she turned back toward the town. "Probably not."

"Definitely not," Collins said, shaking her head softly. They watched quietly as the trucks continued their organized movement through the town. After about five minutes all the trucks stopped moving and they turned off their lights. They could hear the doors slam shut after the soldiers climbed out of the trucks. It was quiet for a few more minutes. And then they heard the echos of gunfire. For the first minute all they heard was the gunfire, and then they heard the screams of the people in town. Over all the noise the soldiers started to play a recording that warned the citizens to stay inside their homes and not to panic. It warned that there were Walkers in the town and the soldiers were shooting the monsters. But from their spot in the hills around the town Collins and Daryl knew that explanation was complete bull shit. "They're slaughtering them," Collins murmured quietly as she listened to what was going on below them. "They're shooting people. They didn't come to the town to protect the people. They came here to make sure that the people didn't get out and create a problem for other people." Daryl nodded, he didn't like the idea, but that definitely seemed to be what was happening. He expected tears from Collins, he expected her to not be able to move from her shock - he was even a bit shaken. What he wasn't expecting was for her to be calm and act quickly. "They're going to draw every Walker in the area toward town with all that shooting and screaming and noise," she muttered quietly. "They're going to get overrun. And I don't really want to be around when that happens. We should get your dumb ass of a brother and get the hell out of here."

Daryl stared at the brunette. She looked stronger than he had ever seen her. There were no tears in her eyes, she wasn't shaking or paralyzed with fear. She was in control, ready for what the world was going to throw at her, and prepared to make it through whatever was going on at the moment. When he had run into the bar to take her with him Daryl had stupidly believed that she wouldn't be able to survive without him. That she would never make it without him, never make it on her own. But now, he knew he was wrong. He was struck by the thought that the one person he'd ever felt the need to take care of was probably stronger than he was.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Well there we go, lovelies.  
More Walkers. And as you remember, time's not going to jump as much (if at all) between chapters now.  
There's too much fun to have.  
This chapter was pretty hard to write, because they don't give much background information on the beginning of the apocalypse on the show so I just had to run with it. I figured if they bombed Atlanta maybe they would do that in other cities and towns too. And then after I decided that this chapter happened. I hope you guys liked it. I'm pretty proud of it.  
Special thanks goes to: _Cookiedow, HipsterCoyote, Nightingale's Lullaby, xjavierax, ImagineSweeter, JeanneFate-x, Orenji-Juice, _and _555LordBacon666_ who added this story to their **Favorites List**.  
And to: _Cookiedow, Heaven111705, Nightingale'sLullaby, SurferGirl711, WeasleyTwinObsessed, kolakaka, DeviousMidget, Lilly72, jouetdedestin, JeanneFate-x, Kris83, cakeface, Ulander24, icantseeyourstar, _and_ izzywizzyme _who added this story to their **Alerts List.  
**But as always, the **BIGGEST** of **SPECIAL THANKS** goest to those of you who **REVIEWED** the last chapter:  
**Maddy120296: **Aww thank you dear! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Honestly I wish that I could update more often too. Unfortunately ten pages is a lot to write in one sitting. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too and I hope that you don't still dislike Daryl because he shot Randy, he felt like he had no other choice.  
**Ithilya: **Thank you! I'm happy you're enjoying the story and I hope that you liked this chapter too! Thank you so much for your review!  
**ChooseJoy: **Aww! You have no idea how much your review made me smile! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story stile and that I eventually won you over as far as the age difference went. One of my biggest worries about the ten year age difference was that their relationship would feel forced, especially since I'm only working with ten chapters, but I'm glad it hasn't. Their relationship kind of grew and evolved as they aged and I think it went really well. :D  
As for the fallout from Randy, I'm not sure if I was able to write it as well as I wanted to, but Collins was kind of in shock for a while, her blow up with Merle in this chapter was kind of like her finally dealing with everything that was going on in her life. And as for Daryl and Collins they're still doing the friends thing, or friends with benefits because that's what they've known for a while. Is Collins completely over what happened? Not yet, but it's getting there.  
**xXMegers17Xx: **Yes. Now it begins. :D I had to make Merle sort of sweet, I love the redneck too much not to. Although I took it back in this chapter, there can only be so much sweet Merle before he becomes out of character, which is not something I want.  
**Lady of Sign: **I'm happy that I posted another chapter too, believe me. I missed writing and I missed reading everyone's responses to the story. (Seriously, best part of my week is when I sit down to read the reviews!) And I understand, as much as I loved the pre-WD stuff, it was time for some Walkers. I've always been curious about an AU Daryl story, but I don't think I could write Daryl Dixon without Walkers. It just wouldn't feel right.  
**Malachite16819: **Don't worry, darling. I'm definitely going to keep going. I've spent too much time on this story to give up now. (Not when we only have three more chapters to go... that would just be mean.) I'm glad you've enjoyed this story so far and I hope that you liked this chapter as well. I'm glad you like the Daryl that Collins and I have created. I'm kind of a fan of him too.  
**jouetdedestin: **Ha ha ha! I'm glad you enjoyed those, dear! I'm becoming a fan of writing them if I do say so myself.  
**Rea Josette: **Yes! The zombies are here. I was really excited to start writing about them. I love Walker scenes. And don't worry there are definitely more to come! Thank you so much for your review! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as the previous ones!  
**CaineSpeedle: "**As always" - those words might be my favorite words to read now! Thank you so much for your AWESOME review. You spoil me! I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and trust me, you weren't the only one who was happy to have Collins and Daryl back together. I couldn't keep them apart for too long, it made me nervous (like border line panic attack nervous). It was a problem. As for Merle learning a thing or two from Collins ... that might be on the docket (sorry, I'm toying around with the idea of another Daryl story which may or may not involve a very pretty, "out of his league," lawyer).  
**JeanneFate-x: **Feels? They were everywhere? You know you wrote a good chapter when a reviewer's feels were ever and they say, "I can't even..." So thank you for your review! That made my day. I've been thinking about taking some of my favorite reviews and posting them on tumblr to advertise the story, and if I do - your review is definitely going in there. No need to thank me for the collection of "Daryl-ful moments." Thank you for reading. (and reviewing!)  
**Guest: **I'm glad, dear! Thank you so much for your review!  
**Leyshla Gisel: **No, her dad isn't that powerful or scary! That would be terrifying if he had the power to empty an entire town. And no ... as you could see in this chapter, that is the last we will ever see her dad. (Except maybe in a few flashbacks during the last chapter ... haven't decided.) And I had them make up before the ZA though, it would have been interesting to write about Daryl forcing a very angry Collins to leave with him. Thank you so much for your review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!  
And that's all I've got for now. Thank you guys and I'll see you back here next week.  
Until then, happy reading!  
Hugs and kisses,  
Chloe Jane.


End file.
